HDN: Ruination
by Porpol
Summary: In the final battle between the CPUs and Rei Ryghts, a last-minute twist turned the tides in favour of the wicked CPU resulting in the defeat of the protectors of Gamindustri. With no way to stop them, Histoire makes a desperate final attempt at summoning a 'hero'.
1. Chapter 1 - Last Resort Hero

**Big thanks to Symantra for beta reading this chapter**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Last Resort Hero**

It was a cold morning in Planeptune, the land of purple progress. The icy wind was howling, the sky was devoid of sunlight, and not a single soul dared to wander the ruined streets that once beamed with joy.

This, however, did not surprise IF. It had been like this for the past year, after all. Ever since that day, things have been getting worse. Ever since the day that vile traitor turned his back on them when they relied on him the most.

About two weeks before this, Neptune, the CPU of Planeptune, had somehow been transported to another dimension. It was this very event that set the plan in motion.

With one CPU out of the picture, the Citizens Group grabbed their chance. The Citizens Group is an organization, filled with the delusional desire of a Gamindustri with no CPUs. According to them, CPUs are unnecessary and simply too incompetent to rule any sort of nation. While in some aspect they are right, that being the CPUs can be a bit 'quirky', they fail to understand that the world needs some figure of authority to function.

From the day Purple Heart disappeared, Rei Ryghts, the wicked leader of the Citizens Group began spreading her word around Planeptune. With no CPU to stop her, she quickly gained tens of followers. Tens quickly turned into hundreds. Hundreds quickly turned into thousands.

When Neptune finally returned, the mad leader had already gained powers comparable to those of CPU. IF wasn't quite sure how she got those, but one thing was certain. In her mentally unstable state, she didn't care about Gamindustri or its people's safety. All she wanted was to destroy it. Obliterate anything that stood in her way and murder every last living being that dared to oppose her. And with thousands of followers putting faith in her, wiping out the entire world would've been as easy as blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.

Not all hope was lost yet though. In the final hour, the CPUs and their allies united their strength to fight this dark force and end its rampage.

The battle was a hard-fought one, but in the end, only four fighters were left standing; Purple Heart, Iris Heart, Rei Ryghts and one Neptune's close friends, Geoffrey.

This is where the fate of Gamindustri was changed.

Right as Purple Heart and Iris Heart were about to deliver the finishing blow, Geoffrey intervened.

Against everyone's expectations, by literally stabbing the two in the back, he quickly disabled the two, leaving him and a weakened Rei left standing. Obviously, Rei thought she wouldn't lose against a simple human. Declaring herself the victor, she couldn't wait any longer to obliterate all of Gamindustri. However, the traitor had other plans. He somehow managed to convince the mad CPU to wait. To this day, no one is sure how or why he did it.

Even if their alliance is loose, they still managed to conquer eighty percent of Gamindustri in a years' time.

As of now, IF, a girl roughly around the age of eighteen, a top-tier agent of Planeptune's guild, the right-hand woman in the resistance and an icon of hope for those who fight to survive in Planeptune, is heading to the Planeptune Basilicom's meeting room to aid Histoire in her negotiation with the treacherous turncoat in hope of coming to an agreement.

Lady Histoire is Planeptune's Oracle and the leader of the resistance. She's a small fairy, about the size of an eggplant with a dress of the same colour. For some reason, she also always sits on a tome and uses it to move around. She may be small, but she is widely considered to be the most versatile and hardworking beings in all of Gamindustri. In result, this has earned her a lot of respect from those under her leadership.

But even if she is a respected lady, this doesn't get her any different treatment from her opposition

"Sorry I'm late," IF apologized. "I had something to deal with along the way."

Stepping into the meeting room, she was greeted by Histoire and her former friend, Geoffrey, who was looking at her with a kind but deceiving look in his eyes.

The meeting room was all too familiar to IF. With its lilac chairs and roundtable shadowing the purple carpet, it almost felt like a second home to her. She especially liked the massive window, viewing the entire eastern half of Planeptune.

"Don't sweat it," he reassured, while sheepishly waving his hand. "It's not like I got anything better to do anyway."

IF instantly knew that this was just a lie and an attempt to mock her. She would love to lash out at him, beat him up, and gut him like the pig he is. But she knew he wouldn't allow her to do so. Besides, she considers herself to be above that.

The tome sighed. "Please, take your seat, IF. We had already started before you got here."

Taking her seat next to Histoire, opposite of Geoffrey, the guild agent sat straight up. She was a little nervous and tense about how this meeting can go, as he can pretty unpredictable, to say the least.

With his casual purple lumberjack shirt and blue jeans, Geoffrey hadn't changed his look ever since he arrived in Gamindustri. The only additional cosmetic piece he began to wear was that silly black top hat, covering his neatly combed black hair.

"Now... Where was I?" Geoffrey asked, fidgeting with his two wedding bands, one on each hand's ring finger.

"You were about to make a counteroffer." Histoire reminded.

"Right, right. What was your offer again?"

The tome let another sigh escape her miniature lips. "Once again, we offer you total control over what remains of the nation of Planeptune. In return, you cease to attack us from this point forward."

Stroking his five o'clock shadow, a devious smile formed on the betrayer's face. "Aww. That's nice of you, Histy," he complimented in a warm tone, "I don't think I can make a counteroffer. I'm way too proud of you, offering me exactly what I need like a big, responsible girl. Pat yourself on the back."

A little spark of hope appeared in the Oracle's eyes. "So... you agree to our terms of peace?"

"Yep. You got yourself a deal, Histy. And don't worry about the contract and slash or the paperwork. I'll send you a signed copy of everything soon enough. Naturally, you'll also have to sign them before it's a deal, but I expect no less of you."

To their surprise, Geoffrey agreed to their terms within seconds. Finally relaxing her shoulders, Histoire hovered forward and held her hand out.

Geoffrey did the same with his index finger and the two shook hands.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to," the traitor said tipping the lid of his hat while stepping towards the way out. However, before he could push the doors open and make his exit, he stopped himself.

"... Hey. Histy-.. uh... Histoire," he began, "You understand this isn't between us, right?"

Histoire, having her back to him, waited a moment, carefully thinking of a response. "I never understood. You helped us recover from ASIC's attack back in the day, guided Nepgear on her journey and served Planeptune with such a fierce spirit."

Pausing again, silence filled the room.

"..."

"Was it envy that drove you to do this?" the Oracle continued. "Hate? Perhaps wrath because of what happened to Lilith?"

"..."

"It's not too late to put an end to this senseless destruction, Geoffrey."

"Histoire," Having her name called out, Histoire turned her head to let her and the traitor's eyes meet. "she died the day we put our faith into Neptune."

Finally being at her limit, IF shot up and slammed her hands on the glass table. "Oh, just cut the crap already! Do you really think you're justified in destroying the entire world just because you lost someone dear to you?"

"Losing her was the eye-opener," Geoffrey bluntly responded. "One for me... And one for all of you."

The livid guild agent quickly stepped ahead of the man. "You and Nep were practically inseparable and now look at you two…" IF bellowed, "and in the end, you just got up and cut the hand that fed you!"

"Neptune means nothing to me!" Geoffrey angrily responded. "And she shouldn't mean anything to you either after what happened! Why are the other CPUs still holding on to her like a crutch!? Why couldn't they have stopped the uprising of the Citizen Group without her!?"

"They would've won if you hadn't intervened. Just because she failed to save one life doesn't mean she's incompetent!"

Snapping something inside of him, Geoffrey grabbed IF by the collar and lifted her up. "Lilith was my wife!"

"She was also our friend!"

"Then why didn't you save her!? Tell me!" he yelled straight into her face.

If it wasn't for Histoire separating the two, they might've fought it out fist to fist. "P-please. Calm yourselves. Geoffrey, I suggest you leave to attend to your business. I'll be sure to have a talk with IF."

clicking his tongue in annoyance, Geoffrey pushed the doors open and headed for the way out in silence.

Now that their guest had left, Histoire's stern look turned to a relieved one.

"Histoire, why'd you stop me?" the guild agent asked with annoyance. "he deserved to be put in his place for once."

"Now that we've established a basic peace contract, we're still not out of the clear," Histoire worriedly explained. "since Rei Ryghts is still free to do whatever she desires."

"Tsk. Yeah, I know. But without Nep and the others, there's no way we can stop her. But what about that 'secret teleport' whatcha-ma-call-it? You know, the one we recovered from that wrecked base?"

The tiny tome smiled as she gestured IF to follow her. "I was about to mention it. I have established a connection with the Sharicite. If my calculations are correct, it should be capable of summoning a worthy hero, strong enough to help us rescue Neptune and the others."

Out of surprise, IF raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes. "Wait, really? You think that will work?"

"I have no doubt it will. Now, if you would please follow me to the Sharicite room."

Entering the Sharicite room, IF was amazed at the amount of wiring and large cables that were connected to the Sharicite. Most of them weren't even connected to the teleporter platform. It all seemed a little excessive.

"Whoa. You really went all out on this one, didn't you?" IF remarked.

"I managed to set it up with the help of Nepgear. Now, I shall begin this instant and channel the remaining share energy to call for our hero."

Spreading her arms, Histoire closed her eyes and focused on the Sharicite. "I just hope Celestia will heed our call."

* * *

Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt.

With his raven hair still wet from the shower, Toby grabbed his phone from the messy bed to see who'd texted him.

" _8:14 - H.B.: Hey you still home? Arent you running bate?_ "

" _8:14 – H.B.: *Late_ "

Glancing at the time stamp of the messages, he noticed he still had at least half an hour before he had to leave. Confused to why his friend even asked, he wrote a response.

" _8:15 - Me: Huh? Y so? They gave me a teleporter, remember?_ "

Tossing the phone back on his bed, the teen took his time to gather his clothes and get dressed.

"They gave me a teleporter," Toby thought. "Never knew I'd say that so casually."

In the recent year, technology has advanced greatly because of a single company. Their inventions and discoveries turned the world on its head when they first revealed it to the public. From teleporters to more powerful gaming consoles to gravity-defying item boxes, New Event Productions, or N.E.P. for short, has become the most influential and wealthy company in almost a month after the release of its new products. They even managed to create bottomless pockets, which they dubbed 'Hammerspace packs'.

For example, not only did the inventions of teleporters solve a lot of traffic problems, they also managed to cheaply transport products from point A to point B, effectively pushing the competition in bankruptcy. Not that it had any effect on the economy, though. N.E.P. was more than happy to employ those who had lost their jobs. And this was just one of the many applications of one of their many products. Toby knew man-kind had reached its peak, at long last, and he was more than happy to be alive at a time like this.

Getting done dressing, Toby looked back at his mirror image. A young, sixteen-year-old boy with messy black hair and deep blue eyes. The boy in the mirror closed the zipper of his crimson body warmer over his orange shirt. On his bodywarmer was a name tag pinned. " _Hello! My name is: Tobias Karston, and I'll be your guide,_ " it read.

"I guess this will do," he thought as he grabbed his phone and backpack.

With time to spare, Toby ran down the stairs to greet his parents off before leaving.

However, the teen had forgotten both his parents had both already left for their own respective jobs. He still wasn't used to the fact they had to work on Saturdays.

With no one to say goodbye to, the teen headed back to his room to use his teleporter.

A teleporter does exactly what the name says. Shaped like a pink diamond, one simply has to touch it to be transported from A to B. For some reason, Toby felt like he had seen this before in a game. He does consider himself to be a gaming otaku to some extent. But it's probably a coincidence. All of the technology N.E.P. has created seemed like it all came straight out of a game.

Touching the pink diamonds, Toby closed his eyes and waited to the count of three before opening them again. When he did, he was greeted by the warm rays of sunshine and a refreshing southern breeze. Sure, it's supposed to be rainy literally everywhere else in London right now, but thanks to N.E.P.'s weather control system, they could afford themselves to have at least some nice weather around their own premise.

The building itself is a forty story tall skyscraper, with a canal encircling the building. The walls of the building were made of reflective glass. The only way in is either by using an energy bridge, a teleporter or by swimming (which is not recommended).

Entering the building, Toby looked up to admire the view from inside once more. With its many steel floating platforms and energy bridges running between them, none of the floors were actually disconnected from each other. The reason being that most employees like to use a hover pad to navigate themselves through the building.

"Seeing people just standing around looking silly while waiting to reach their destination never gets old," Toby thought as he too got on a square, one by one hover pad, which took him to his locker room on the first floor.

Putting his bag in his locker, Toby was ready to begin the day.

However, right before he could take another step, he bumped into a man, a little taller than him, making Toby lose his balance and fall on his rear. "Oof."

"Whoops. Sorry. Wasn't looking. Totally my fault." The man apologized.

"No, no. It's fine. I should've been more careful."

When Toby looked up to get a good look at who he had bumped into, he saw a gentleman with a silly top hat and a purple lumberjack shirt, followed by a grey-skinned girl a little older than himself, wearing a mouse hoody and reflective glasses covering her eyes. It was Mister Lance, the CEO of the company and his assistant Linda.

"O-oh! Mister Lance! I, uhm... I'm really sorry about that," Toby apologized as he accepted his hand.

"Hey, I told you it's cool... Say, I remember you. You're that intern with that degree in fencing, right? You're a visitor guide. I even gave you that job myself. TK, right? Can I call you TK?"

"Uh... Of course, mister Lance." Toby awkwardly responded, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't know if he should feel honoured or ashamed of being remembered as 'the intern with a degree in fencing'.

By now you probably have noticed Mister Lance is a quite laid back towards his employees. With his casual clothes and the way he talks, you wouldn't think this man is actually a multi-billionaire running the most well-known brand of technological gadgets of the century.

Of course, he wasn't always this 'super powerful billionaire that got everything he ever wanted'. The way he managed to climb to the top is quite a tragic tale, actually.

From what Toby knows, Geoffrey Lucian Lance and his wife were involved in an accident during an experiment. The latter did not make it out alive. Determined to not make his wife's loss be in vain, he dedicated himself to somehow make the experiment a success. After an entire year of hard work, he finally did it. Although, no one exactly knows what he did or what he found. It's a company secret.

"Alright TK," mister Lance continued, "I was actually looking for you... Which is how I remembered you. Because I was looking for you."

"Huh? Me?"

"Yeah. You," The CEO replied as he wrapped his arm around Toby and walked him forward. "Go ahead without me Linda. I'll be there with you in my office enough soon, 'kay?"

As grumpy as ever, his assistant let out a groan. Toby never understood why he keeps her around. She never seems to be doing anything, dresses like an antagonist from a game he knows pretty well and never says anything nice, not even to Mister Lance himself.

Guided by his superior, Toby was brought to a poorly lit, windowless room on the same floor with a single yellow teleporter pad in the middle with a control panel next to it.

Toby knew that this teleporter in specific is known as the private teleporter, connected to the CEO office of the building. Which is why it was a little darker in here and why it had this constant humming noise in it, as no one beside the highest authority was supposed to ever be here. You'd say they would maintain rooms meant for high-authority only to be a little more appealing than this.

There was something that confused the teen, however. "S-sir? Why did you tell your assistant to meet you in your office if we're going straight there anyway?" Toby hesitantly asked.

"She needs to work out a little more," the CEO immediately responded, still having his arm wrapped around his employee, "You know, have her walk some stairs. I mean, have you seen her skin? It's as grey as the sky would be if it weren't for our weather control system. Seriously, why do you think it's always sunny here? I'm trying to give her a little tan so she might actually get a boyfriend for herself or something. Hey, TK, you got a girlfriend?"

Getting thrown so much at him at once, Toby was at a loss for words. He wanted to interrupt his boss mid-way through his story, but that'd be rude.

"I, um... Uh... I don't sir... But, sir. I thought this building doesn't have any stairs. So how can she climb any?"

Mister Lance turned to the teen with a sour expression, as if the teen had just insulted him. "Just... Just get on the teleporter."

"R-right. Sorry, sir."

Stepping on the teleporter, Toby felt a little nervous, for some reason. He couldn't really explain why, though. He had used teleporters like these for the past month now. How was this any different?

"Alright, you know the drill. Don't move, close your eyes for three seconds and try not to fall over," mister Lance instructed while sending commands from his control panel. Once again, Toby found this fairly suspicious. He was fairly certain there were no other destinations connected to this teleporter. A single button press should be enough, right?

He didn't dare to question his superior though, even if he acted like they had known each other for years.

"Hey, uh... I think there's a bit of an error," His boss warned. "Don't worry, I'll fix this. Just keep those eyes closed, chillax, and stay still."

Doing as his boss had told him, he kept still with his eyes closed. "This is mister Lance we're talking about. I probably shouldn't even be worried."

"Alright. Fixed it. Tactical nu-, erm... Tactical teleport! Incoming!"

With that annoying humming noise finally going mute, the teen knew he was being teleported, so he began his countdown.

Three. Two. One. Office.

When he opened his eyes he expected to see a luxurious office with a fancy desk in front of a glass window. His expectations weren't even remotely close to reality.

With electric sparks blinding him, he could barely make out the silhouettes of a person with long hair and another much smaller person on top of a book.

"What the hell?" The teen though, stepping off the teleporter and advancing towards the duo.

"Greetings, young hero," the tiny tome greeted, "I welcome you to Gamindustri. I am Histoire. The all-seeing tome of Gamindustri. I have summoned you to aid us in our time of need."

Familiar with the name, the teen rubbed his eyes to try and get a good look at the two figures.

"Wait... Did that tiny person just call herself Histoire?" Toby thought.

Finally getting a good look at the duo, Toby instantly recognized them both. "Hu-...Awa... EH!"

The two Gamindustrians just stared at him, the brunette raising an eyebrow at his lack of words. "Hey. Histoire. You may have gotten someone that doesn't speak English."

Still at a loss for words, Toby spouted some more incoherent speech. "Ubbu-, Bu-.. -uw."

Histoire, now also a little surprised at the boy's lack of audible language, also began to question her method. "You may be right, IF. Perhaps we did go a few dimensions too far."

Finally pulling himself together, Toby shouted the first thing that came to his mind. "What the HECK is going on!?"

* * *

After the boy calmed down, Histoire brought him to the same meeting room she just left and allowed him to sit down and calm himself.

Toby, now finally able to think straight again, tried to make sense what he just got himself into.

 _"Okay. Take it easy, Tobias. There can only be three logical explanations for this. One: The teleportation error mister Lance had was actually some magical thing from Histoire and she summoned me to this dimension because... uh... Because. Two: mister Lance knows I'm a gamer and he's letting me test some virtual reality console thing and it just so happened to be a Neptunia game. Or three: my entire life is a lie and I'm actually an original character in some poorly written fanfiction. Which is ridiculous, because I'm pretty sure I'm real. I mean, I still remember what I had for dinner last night. Yeah. You don't see OCs talk or think about that stuff. Because that would be a huge time waster and a poor decision on a writer's part. No, it must be either the first or the second option._ "

Standing up from his comfy chair, Toby clapped his hand together. "Alright. I think I've calmed down. So... Why exactly am I here?"

"Very well. Allow me to explain."

Histoire briefly explained on how the Citizens Group had gained a large amount of influence, how Rei had defeated the CPUs thanks to one of their allies betraying them, how this traitor has managed to capture each CPU (excluding the candidates) and how they had summoned him in a desperate attempt to make a comeback. Of course, she also explained some things that were already known to him, like how Gamindustri was ruled by CPUs and that they're powered by the shares of people, but that's to be expected.

Letting this info sink in, Toby quickly knew he was in Re;Birth 3 or Victory. But what about that ally? Was it a maker? Maybe someone that wasn't in the games? He decided to ask about it another time. He was far too excited to actually be in one of his favourite video games. You can't rush yourself when you're in a situation like this.

"Alright, I think I finally understand. So basically, you need me to play the hero and save the others, right?"

With a smile, Histoire nodded. "Indeed. You are a quick learner... uhm... T-Tobias Karston?"

"Huh? Wow. You really are the all-seeing tome, aren't you Histy? You totally knew my name before I even told you."

"Well, actually I just read it off your name tag and-..." Histoire's world slowly trailed off. "Hold on. did you just call me 'Histy'?"

Toby quickly looked down to see if he really was still wearing his name tag before he responded. "Yeah. Histy. It's a cute nickname, right?"

"I prefer you would not call me that, but if you must, I suppose you can."

Suddenly, IF, which had been on her phone the entire time, stood up and cleared her throat. "Bad news. A swarm of monsters has broken through the southern barrier and all our men are busy defending the northern barrier. I'm the nearest agent, but I can't go alone." She gave Toby a suggestive look when she finished her sentence.

"H-huh? Fighting already?" Toby asked, "But I've only been here for like... ten minutes. I don't even have a weapon on me."

"Eh? You don't?" IF questioned.

"Do not worry. I had already thought of the possibility," Histoire reassured, "May I ask, do you have any form of previous combat experience?"

"Well... I know how to use a rapier. You know, fencing and stuff."

"How convenient," the tome remarked. "I just so happen to have one on me."

Taking said blade out of her hammerspace, Toby looked in awe at the blade as she handed it to him. It felt quite light and looked very similar to the one he had back home. The only difference was the protective handle, which was coated in gold. Other than that, it looked pretty generic, but what can you expect of a blade like a rapier?

" _If it looked any different, it wouldn't be a rapier anymore,_ " Toby thought.

IF was a bit sceptical on Histoire's decision. "Hey. Histoire. That blade. Isn't that-"

"-The one Lilith Belrose used, indeed," Histoire finished. "But I think it is fitting for our new hero to have it."

Toby didn't quite catch the name of the previous wielder, but he did hear he wasn't the first to use this blade. "Hm? Wait, what happened to the previous owner?"

Both girls looked at each other in silence for a second before ultimately IF responded. "She is no longer among us. She gave her life to protect us back in the Gamindustri Graveyard."

"Ah... Sorry I asked," the teen apologized.

"Don't sweat it. It's all in the past," the Guild agent assured with an apathetic expression. "Let's just go. I'm sure you're excited to try out your new toy, am I right?"

"Spot on. Lead the way, Iffy."

"Don't call me that." IF coldly retorted.

"Oh...'kay."

And with that, the duo ran off to fend off the attacking monsters.

Toby was still wondering whether or not he was actually dreaming. He gets to be the main star in one of his favourite games, meet the characters and travel alongside them. Not only that, but once he'll get back home, he'll be able to tell everyone about it.

"This is so awesome!" Toby thought. "I totally get to meet Neptune. What's the worst that can happen?"

* * *

 **Hey there. Thanks for reading the story so far. I hope you enjoyed what I offered. I tend to drag on when it comes to author notes, so I'll keep this one short and brief.**

 **Although I do like the story I've come up with so far, I'm still having some doubts about continuing this. So I've decided to create a poll on my profile with a simple yes and no option (for those that don't feel like writing a review). If you could give your input on this poll, I would really appreciate it.**

 **Have a nice day!**

 **-Porpol**


	2. Chapter 2 - A Slow Start

**Chapter 2: A Slow Start**

"So let me get this straight... Again... Basically, the CPUs lost against Rei Ryghts after this guy called Geoffrey turned on you all for no reason?" Toby summed up. "And after that, it went all downhill."

"He probably had a reason, but that's what happened basically," IF responded. "Does the name ring any bells?"

"Kinda... Not sure. Even so, they're probably not the same person."

Truth be told, he's very familiar with the name. Geoffrey Lucian Lance. It would make sense for it to be him. He did manage to invent all the technology at N.E.P. with a group of unknown scientists in such a short time.

However, it just didn't seem right in Toby's head. He has met with the man himself. He's a laidback genius that you just can't hate. He even employed those that lost their jobs and even their company because of him. There's no way his role model would destroy an entire dimension for no good reason. He could've gotten that technology by just paying for it or maybe even by asking the CPUs themselves.

IF must be talking about someone else. Toby was sure of it. Names aren't unique after all.

The duo had been walking down the ruined streets of Planeptune for about half an hour now and after introducing themselves to each other properly, they began exchanging idle chat along the way. Toby learned a little more about what was going and IF got to know what Toby's world was like.

Speaking of home, Toby realized he probably should inform his parents he won't be home for some time, assuming this isn't a simulation.

Taking out his phone and navigating through the menu, he sent his mother a brief text.

"9:35 – Me: _Hi Ma. Won_ _'_ _t be home anytime soon... Long story._ _"_

As soon as he began to write his explanation, he noticed something. His phone couldn't send the message.

Toby facepalmed mentally. Of course, it can't send anything. If you're in another dimension (or a simulation), how would it? It won't even have a signal.

IF bumped the boy's arm with her elbow. "Look ahead, Toby. We're here."

Putting his phone in his pocket, Toby looked ahead and saw a small pack of Pixelvaders. From what he could tell, there were about thirty, maybe fifty of them.

"Pixelvaders? Really?" The boy questioned.

"Why so disappointed? We should feel lucky they're just weak monsters that managed to slip past the walls."

"Well, yeah. But I was expecting... Well... Dogoo's? I mean, aren't those supposed to be the standard first encounter monsters?"

The guild agent raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

Toby opened his mouth to answer, but he quickly closed it again. "... Let's just start killing."

"Couldn't have said it any better myself." IF said as she took a few steps back and sat down on some rubble.

"You're not gonna fight?" Toby asked with confusion.

The guild agent shrugged. "These things are literally the fourth weakest kind of monsters in existence. They should be a good warm-up for someone that's never fought a monster before."

"Fair enough," Toby responded as he took his new blade out.

One of the Pixelvaders had already noticed the duo and had approached them. Only a few feet away, said monster awkwardly stared at Toby. Not really sure what to do, the boy stared back.

"..."

"..."

"... Uh... What's wrong?" IF asked.

"I... So I just hit it right?"

"You just hit it." IF bluntly repeated.

"..."

"..."

"I can hit it and it will take damage, right?"

"That's usually how 'hitting' someone or something works, yeah." IF coldly retorted.

"..."

"..."

The two were still staring at each other like two statues, to IF's annoyance.

"So is this turn-based combat or can I just hit it whenever I want?"

"Oh for the love of Goddess." IF mumbled with suppressed anger. "Just. Hit. It."

"R-right."

For a moment Toby inspected the little guy. He's never fought anything this small before. It can't even reach to his knees. It kind of reminded him of a football, if anything. It was probably more effective to kick it than to try and thrust his blade into it. Or he probably could even try and crush it like an insect under his shoe.

"Hmm..."

Putting his foot on the monster's head, he slowly pushed it down, causing the monster to become flatter... And flatter... And eventually getting crushed, causing it to light up and burst into binary numbers. "Hum. That was easy." The teen remarked.

"Congrats, you did it!" IF sarcastically said. "Here comes its family. Make yourself look good, kid."

With their comrade being crushed under the teen's foot, the remaining Pixelvaders looked quite livid, which was quite amazing, considering they can't physically change their expression.

With dozens of monsters jumping at him, tackling him whenever they could, the boy began to panic a little. He could only dodge so many of them and he's still inexperienced when it comes to fighting monsters.

But eventually, he managed to get a few good hits on the little devils, even killing an amount.

"Hum... This is actually kinda fun."

Finally getting the hang of it, the boy easily managed to take down the rest. It was over before he even realized it. "Huh? That's it? C'mon. I'm just getting started."

"Not bad for a rookie." The guild agent compliment as she got up and took one of her cell phones from her belt. "Not going to lie, I thought those Pixelvaders would get the better of you."

"What can I say? I'm a natural... Hey wait a second. If you thought those things would kick my behind, then why'd you sit there and do nothing?"

IF shrugged. "I wouldn't have let them if it came to that. Plus, you can't always rely on others. It's best for you to get used to fighting solo right from the get-go. Anyway, give me your phone for a second."

Out of curiosity, Toby asked the one question that came to his mind. "Why?"

"So I can add you to my party, of course. Just because you shouldn't rely on others doesn't mean you should work alone."

Seeing no reason why he shouldn't, Toby handed his phone over. IF, however, examined it as if it was some kind of piece of modern art. "Is... Is this really your phone?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It's ancient. I'm pretty sure it doesn't even have the built-in adventure party app," she clarified as she returned the phone. "I usually don't just hand these out, so start feeling special. Here. Hold your right hand out."

Complying, IF quickly strapped a silver digital watch to Toby's wrist. "This one's already hooked up to my party app. You can figure out how it works in your spare time."

"What, no manual?" Toby asked.

"They installed it on the watch."

The idea made Toby snicker. "That's the most counter-intuitive feature ever."

"What do you mean? If you ask me, it's really useful."

"Yeah, but... Look. What if I want to know how to turn this thing on?"

IF cocked a smile. "Easy. Just check the manual."

"So how do I check the manual?"

"You just turn the watch on and-" IF stopped herself, realizing what Toby was implying. "... Oh. I see where you're coming from. It's, uh... It's the red button. The rest is touch screen and voice based."

Pressing said button, the watch's screen lid up. " _Guild-View v1.06 - Welcome new user. Please enter your name,_ _"_ the watch requested with a synthesized voice.

"Nifty," Toby mumbled.

" _User: Nifty. Registration successful. Would you like to open the manual?_ _"_

"Wait. No. My name is-"

" _Affirmative. Skipping manual_."

"... Son of a-..."

While Toby was struggling with this new found technology, IF was having trouble keeping her laughter suppressed. "I told you it's voice-sensitive by default. I'll help you out when we get back."

Toby turned the watch off. "Right. So what's next?"

"Eh. Nothing, really. It looks like you got all of them. Let's head back to the Bassilicom so I can properly get you a Guild pass, a home, and a hammerspace bag."

"Fair enough. Lead the way."

And so the two set off to do more obligatory introduction scenes. IF made Toby an official member of the Guild and gave him a suitable apartment he could reside in.

Surely, this was indeed a slow start.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

"Alright, you maggot. Status report. Now!" Rei demanded.

Sitting on her throne in her throne room, the wicked CPU had been ruling over Gamindustri from this place ever since the day she fought the CPUs. She only had to come down and bring down the hammer on anyone foolish enough to deny her right, but she relished every moment of it every time.

The throne room was long with golden tiles reflecting light shining through the stained glass windows, marble pillars supporting the ceiling and a long red carpet stretching from the throne to the entrance.

To Geoffrey, it all looked rather over the top and poorly designed. But hey, it wasn't his throne room anyway.

"Of course, my lady," The turn-coat began. "Planeptune has officially surrendered. They have yet to sign the papers, but it is as good as yours."

The cyan CPU laughed wickedly. "Gwahaha. I really thought those cubs of Planeptune would be the first to fall, yet they were the last ones standing."

"It indeed was a rather unexpected turn of events," Geoffrey confirmed like a yes-man, not wanting to anger the goddess. "But now that you have all four nations AND have rebuilt your own nation, what are you going to do with it?"

"Well isn't it obvious? I'm going to destroy it. Just for laughs." The mad CPU smiled wickedly "Who's laughing now? Huh! Who is it! Come on! Tell me!"

"T-that'd be you, my lady." The yes-man nervously answered. "But... are you sure, you want to destroy it already? I mean, uh... Planeptune has yet to sign the papers. It's not truly yours yet."

"Huh? what was that, worms for brains? You just told me it was mine!"

"Y-yes, but-"

Rei slammed her scepter against the floor. "But this, but that, but eeeeveryone. But, but, but, but, but! Say but one more time and I'll be kicking yours right out of the window."

Geoffrey swallowed the ball of bile that had formed in his throat along with his annoyance. "Y-yes, my lady. It's just that if you destroyed all of it now, you won't be able to see the faces of the CPUs if you do so."

"Who cares! I won! That's what counts! I'm tired of sitting on this spot, ruling over ungrateful maggots. I want to finally reset this world so the two of us can start over. Isn't that what you told me _we_ could achieve, my dear Oracle?" Rei spat the words we and Oracle out like they were acid."

"My lady... I feel obligated to remind you it was you that wanted to see the looks on their faces when you destroyed each of their nations."

The cyan CPU growled out of annoyance. "Grr... FIIIIINE! What are you waiting for then? Bring them here! And if you even somehow mess this up, you'll be the one cleaning it up, understand?"

Geoffrey was surprised Rei didn't threaten him with his life if he somehow managed to mess things up, but he didn't dare bring it up. "Very well, my lady. They'll be here in a few days."

"Good. Now leave me alone."

After a respectful bow, the man turned around and attempted to leave the throne room.

As he finally closed the doors behind him, he let out a sigh of relieve. "That was almost too close for comfort. Can't have her destroying Gamindustri when I'm so close."

Geoffrey took out his phone and called his assistant. "Linda? Yeah, it's me... No, not yet... Yeah... Uh-huh... Really?... Nah, he'll call you back. Trust me... Yeah, we're still on for tomorrow. I already called the restaurant... Wait, no. No time to talk about your personal life. We got business to attend to. I want you to schedule the transport of the four main CPUs from Leanbox to Tari's teleporter to 'you-know-where'... No, I don't want you to TELE-port them. I want you to TRANS-port them by boat. Also, make the security minimal..."

Geoffrey quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure Rei wasn't listening in. "Of course they'll escape like that," he confirmed whispering. "That's the whole point. Look. I know what trouble we went through to capture them. I was there myself, remember? I'll explain it to you later. Do this and I promise we'll have a little look into that thing you asked of me... Yeah. That big thing. The vessel is ready. You're lucky she doesn't require a soul or this would've taken much longer... Alright. Thank you, Linda. I'll see you tomorrow."

After hanging up, the man let out another sigh. "Jesus Christ, this is stressful. I need a break."

* * *

 **Several days later**

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

"..."

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

"zzz..."

 _"_ _I SAID: BZZT! BZZT!_ _"_ The watch exclaimed.

"Gah!... Huh?"

Groggily, the boy rubbed his eyes as he sat straight on his bed. He was in his apartment. The one IF had assigned to him. Turns out any vacant house can be yours when the CPU isn't around. Not that the apartment was anything of luxury. Just a couch, kitchen, bathroom, shower, bed and four walls. Just enough to make a living out of it.

"Nggh... Stupid watch... Schedule a reminder. Buy new replacement alarm clock."

" _Affirmative. Event:_ _'_ _Buy new alarm clock_ _'_ _has been scheduled._ _"_

"You're okay with me just replacing you?" the boy asked as he got up and prepared some breakfast.

" _Negative. I am not programmed to be sentient. Me talking to you is just part of the built-in conversation app._ _"_

"Well... If you put it like that..." Toby said as he realized he had been talking to basically nothing.

" _Would you like to disable this function?_ _"_

"Meh. Keep it as it is."

" _Affirmative._ _"_

Having finished his breakfast, the boy got dressed and headed out to the Guild to pick up a few quests. But not before checking his phone. It was a force of habit. Of course, it still read the same text as ever. _No Signal_.

It's been several days since he got here. Things have been getting along slowly. He already got to meet Compa and he even made a few new friends at the Guild.

He even managed to get the hang of fighting monsters with his blade in these few short days. It was only natural, really. Being a gamer as well as an experienced fencer made this all too easy for him.

Still, the days had been uneventful and there wasn't much to do besides Guild stuff. He was already aware the war against the CPU of Tari was already lost, but he had heard the Guild and the Bassilicom were working tirelessly to find a way to make a comeback. Surely, they'd come up with something soon, right?

"Man, I could really do with something a little more exciting than stomping Dogoo's, slaying Horsebirds or whatever," Toby spoke out loud as he wandered through the abandoned street. "I mean, whenever some fanfiction OC gets themselves transported to this world, they usually either get loads of chirper events, get to sleep in the Bassilicom instead of some crappy apartment and they get to go on all kinds of cool adventures."

" _Do you think you are a fictional character created by a shut-in NEET?_ _"_ His watch asked with its usual synthesized voice.

"Of course not. Otherwise, this adventure would've been way more exciting. I'm bored to the bone."

* **Beep** * " _You have a new message._ "

"... I guess all my complaining triggered an event flag or something."

Stopping dead in his tracks, the teen checked his watch's inbox. "It's from IF. Let's see... Yo Toby, come to the Bassilicom's meeting room (the one with the big window). We've found them and we need someone reliable. So hurry!"

The teen couldn't help but smile. After all this hard work, he's finally getting to do something for real. No more questing. No more grinding. Time for the real deal.

"Alright. Watch-lady! Two things. First, set destination to Planeptune Bassilicom."

" _Affirmative._ _"_

"Second... don't you have a name or something? I've been calling you Watch-lady for days. Feels rude, even if you're just a robot."

" _Negative. I am Guild-View v1.06. I do not have a name._ "

"Can I call you Siri?"

" _Negative. I am Guild-View v1.06. I do not have a name._ _"_

Toby frowned. "No need to be so sassy about it. Whatever. Let's just go."

" _Correction. Your definition of_ _'_ _sassy_ _'_ _is off._ _"_

"... The definition of sassy is attached to my wrist if you ask me."

After a short walk and an even shorter elevator ride, the boy arrived at the meeting room. There he was greeted by IF, Histoire, Compa, and one new face, that being Nepgear, which got up from her seat as soon as she saw the boy come in. "You must be Toby. Hello there. I'm Nepgear. The CPU candidate of Planeptune. Nice to meet you." Nepgear held her hand out.

"Oh. Uh... Heya, Nepgear. I'm Toby. Nice to meet you too." The boy greeted back as he shook her hand.

He never really was a fan of Nepgear's character. He always thought Re;Birth 2 was the weakest one in the main series because of her being the main focus. Sure, he doesn't hate her, but...

Realising he's trying to justify himself to literally no one, the teen shoved the thought out of his head and took his seat at the table.

"Now then," Histoire began. "I'm glad all of you could make it on such a short notice. As you all may already know, we finally located the CPUs."

The tome paused and looked at everyone to confirm she wasn't telling them anything new. "From the intel we have received from agent 'Good Luck Lana', our four CPUs will be transported from Leanbox to Tari."

From what Toby knew, the nation of Tari had been rebuilt at the same place the Gamindustri Graveyard used to be.

"From Leanbox to Tari?" Compa asked. "Why would they do something so reckless? Maybe this is a trap."

"I'd agree with you, but we've done some research and it doesn't seem like it is," IF explained. "they're being transported as freight with minimal security. They probably want us to believe they're just shipping cargo from A to B."

"If I may speak up," Toby began. "What if we can't trust this Good Luck Lana girl. They might just be shipping soldiers along to make us think they're being reckless."

"I can answer that," Histoire said. "Agent Lana has been a reliable spy since the beginning of this war. We don't know her methods, but she has given us valuable intel from time to time. I recall she once managed to find a critical weakness in an all-out attack against Planeptune last month. If it weren't for this info, we would've been done for by now."

"I see... Alright, carry on."

Histoire nodded. "As I was saying, the ship will have minimal protection. No weapons, very few soldiers and loose security. We know this since our agent has sent us the ship's layout along with the plans. They'll be leaving in six hours at four o'clock. Any questions?"

Nepgear raised her hand. "Just one. What about Plutia, Peashy and the other CPUs from the Ultradimension? Will they be on-board as well?"

When Toby heard this, it got him wondering for a second. "Plutia? Peashy?" He thought. "They've been captured as well? Dang. This stuff goes much deeper than I thought."

"I'm afraid not," Histoire responded. "Their whereabouts are still unknown to us. I have no doubt agent Lana will find them soon enough. She just needs time to work."

"I actually got one too," IF said, leaning forward from her seat. "What about the other CPU candidates? Aren't they joining us?"

"Actually," Toby spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "I've been following them on Chirper. Uni posted a status update about liberating Lastation together with Rom and Ram today with a '#Reiisnotokay'. At which Rei responded with 'Omg LOL you can have it. See if I care about it.' I mean, don't look at me. I wish I was making this up."

"You have a chirper account mister Toby?" Compa asked.

"Yeah. What about it?"

* **Beep** * * **Beep** *

Toby checked his watch. ' _CPU Nepgear is now following you._ _'_ _'_ _Compa is now following you._ _'_

"Did you two just follow me on Chirper?"

"Yep yep. I follow all my friends on chirper," Compa replied with a bright smile.

"Yes. Uhm... That's okay, right?" Nepgear hesitantly asked.

"I don't mind at all. Just don't be an oversharer."

Histoire cleared her throat. "Ahem. If I may conclude this meeting, I expect the four of you in three hours at Planeptune Port's Bassilicom boathouse. I wish I could give you all more time, but the enemy doesn't wait for us to get ready."

And with that, the meeting was dismissed. Each of them went their separate ways to prepare for the battle to come.

And like last time, Toby was more than excited to be part of this. Maybe a little too excited.

* * *

 **And that concludes chapter 2. Sure, it** **'** **s shorter than chapter 1 (if that even is a bad thing), but I think I** **'** **ll be limiting each chapter to 3k** **–** **5k words. Maybe even 6k if it** **'** **s an important chapter.**

 **Also got around to getting a cover image for the story. It might seem irrelevant, but if you think about it really hard, you might understand where the story is going because of it by chapter 3 or 4.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying the story so far.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Freight Fight

**Quick notice before you begin reading this chapter: when it comes to how to CPUs and their abilities/fighting style, I'll be using elements from the anime as well as from the games.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Freight Fight**

Somewhere in the middle of the Gamindustrian ocean between Leanbox and Tari, a small motorboat carrying three heroes and a CPU candidate was slowly, but steadily being propelled forward.

Nepgear gazed at the vast blue ocean. They had been going for some time now. Long enough for the coast to be blurry.

While the others were calmly exchanging idle chat, the candidate had remained quiet for the entire trip. She'd been thinking about seeing her big sister again after so long. For some reason, she tends to get herself into trouble a lot. First, she got herself captured by ASIC about four years ago. Then she somehow wound up in a whole different dimension thanks to this dimension's Rei. And lastly, she got herself captured again by the hands of her old friend.

Truly, the Nep sisters had a tendency of getting separated time and time again.

And the younger of the two had the habit of getting lonely when her sister was absent. Even at this very moment.

Nepgear was pulled out of her thought when Toby suddenly gave her a little tap on her shoulder. "You okay there, Nepgear?" he asked. "You're looking a little grim."

"Huh? Oh. I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"You've been staring at nothing for the last half an hour or so. What's on your mind?"

The candidate shuffled on her seat. "Well. It's just... I only now realize how often my sister and I tend to get pulled apart and how much I really miss her whenever she's gone."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Hum. I see... I mean, I can't know. I, uh, don't know too much about what happened in Gamindustri a few years ago... Yeah. I don't. What's your sister like?"

"What she is like?" Describing Neptune would be like explaining the meaning of life. Too many random variables. "Uh. If I had to describe her, I'd call her energetic."

"I'd call Nep-Nep unique," Compa stated. "But unique isn't a bad thing. It means you stand out of the crowd and dare to be yourself."

"Unique, certainly," IF added. "Uniquely lazy. Out of all the goddesses, she's probably the only one that never actually does her duties. Yet she somehow always pulls through when we need her."

"So people put faith into her for her occasional heroic actions?" the teen questioned.

Compa let a short 'tee-hee' laugh out. "Don't say that. People also put faith into Ge-Ge, because of how strong and heroic she is."

The nurse's kind words made Nepgear feel rather fuzzy and warm. "Goodness, Compa. You're making me blush. I'm still not as strong as Neptune."

Suddenly, IF stood up and looked ahead. Following her line of sight, Nepgear saw a large curtain of mist floating on top of the water.

Toby also stood up. "Is that...?"

"Yeah," IF confirmed, sitting back down to steer the motor in the right direction. "According to the plans, the ship is equipped with a weather control system. They must be using the mist to camouflage the ship. Get ready everyone. We're sneaking aboard."

"R-right," Nepgear hesitantly replied. "Hang in Neptune. I'm on my way."

"weather control system? Sounds familiar," Toby noted.

* * *

On board of the ship, in the control room, a grey-skinned delinquent sat in a comfy leather chair, leaning back while listening to some music with her new headset.

"Ba-dum PAH! Ba-dum, ba-dum Pah! Tssk, tssk, tssk," she hummed along with the beat while tearing the petals from the flowers she picked a little while before departing.

Just because she's on a job doesn't mean she can't relax, right? After all, those broads aren't even here yet. Plus, the ship is on autopilot anyway. There was no actual reason for her to be here, other than do nothing and act tough when the broads come.

Which reminds her, she should probably check whether those twerps are here yet or not.

Taking off her headset, she got up from her seat and checked the ship's radar.

Unsurprisingly, there was a dot visible. Which means it picked up a signal. Which means the broads are here.

"Aww, dang it. Alright. Time to call that smartass, I guess."

Taking her phone from her hoodie's pocket, she dialled in a number and waited for a response.

" _Yes? Linda? Are they there yet?_ _"_ Geoffrey asked over the phone. Linda could tell the man was watching TV. " _I_ _'_ _m really busy here. Like, super busy. Oh boy. You won_ _'_ _t believe how, uh, yeah. Busy. What_ _'_ _s up?_ _"_

"Busy my ass," Linda mumbled.

" _What was that?_ _"_

"Nothing. Yeah. They're here. Once more, what do you want me to do? Like... what exactly do you want me to do? Last time you just told me to be me. Be specific for once."

" _What? Just... be you. Remember back when ASIC was a thing? Be a nuisance! Fight them or something. Just make it look real._ _"_

Still not sure what she could do to hold out on her own, she peeked out the window and looked around. Suddenly she spotted the spotlight on the freight crane. "And, uh... What if I accidentally kill them all?"

Geoffrey paused for a second. " _I suppose if it comes to that, we_ _'_ _ll just have to fake an accident on the ship and pretend the CPUs escaped that way._ _"_

The underling smiled deviously. "So no need to hold back?"

" _Go nuts. That ship is junk anyway. I got it off a bargain sale. You_ _'_ _d be surprised how low the prices can get on Nep-bay._ _"_

"Heh. Alright, doc. I'll catch ya later."

" _Actually, I_ _'_ _m not a doctor. As a scientist I-_ _"_ Linda ended the call before he could begin another of his speeches. The man loves hearing himself talk and she didn't care enough. Nor did she want to keep her guests waiting any longer.

* * *

Slowly drifting through the mist, IF carefully navigated the boat. "This mist is so thick. I can't even see Gear from here. How the heck are we supposed to find the ship?"

"Maybe... Maybe we can be quiet and listen for it," Toby suggested. "a massive freight ship is bound to make noise, right?"

"That's not a bad idea, mister Toby," Compa complimented. "Let's be as quiet as a group of mice."

"..."

The group quietly listened for any signs of the ship.

"..."

"..."

"... Squeaky, Squeaky~" Compa quietly whispered, being truly as quiet as a mouse.

"..."

Nepgear closed her eyes. She could hear the waves quietly hitting their little boat, the soft sea wind blowing past them, and... something large. Very large.

"I... I think I can hear it. It's close."

IF took out a flashlight and shined it around. "Close? I don't see anything."

"It's getting closer. I can hear it clearly now."

For some reason, Toby looked a little nervous. "H-hey, uh. You know how ships make waves beside them and not in front of them? Like pretty big ones? I didn't feel any turbulence yet. And considering the ship is getting closer..."

Trailing off, the teen began looking rather bleak. "Oh god... Abandon ship!" He shouted as he jumped overboard.

"T-Toby!?" Nepgear called after him, looking over the edge of the boat. However, as she looked up to search for the teen, she realized what he was talking about.

Quickly taking a flashlight from her hammerspace, she shined it straight ahead and saw the massive freight ship, heading straight for their little motorboat.

"W-what the goodness!? Everyone, jump!"

On command, both IF and Compa dived overboard as the massive hull of the ship headed straight for them. Nepgear didn't jump, however. She quickly transformed and flew off to the side of the ship right before their little raft was devoured by the ship's hull.

" _Oh no. I have to do something_!" She thought. She quickly spotted Compa in the water, struggling to keep her head above the surface.

Divebombing towards her, she grabbed the nurse by both arms and lifted her on the ship. Next was IF. The agent wasn't too hard to find either, and she was having a lot less trouble staying afloat too. Lastly was Toby. It took her a minute, but finally she spotted the orange dot floating in the distance.

After getting him out of the water and putting him on the ship, the teen got on all fours and took a deep breath.

"Oww. I got salty water up my nose," Compa complained.

IF took two brushes out of her hammerspace and handed one to Compa. She used the other one to put her hair sort of back into shape. "Geez. Talk about bad luck."

"G-good thing my phone is * **cough** * * **wheeze** * waterproof," Toby said while gasping for air. "Hey wait a sec. If you can fly, why not just fly over here instead of using a pathetic little motorboat?"

"We are trying to be stealthy," IF answered. "Don't you see how much light those processor units of her emit?"

The teen didn't respond as he got up. Instead he looked around. Nepgear, once again, followed her friend's gaze.

From what she could see through the mist, the ship is quite large. Enormous even. From the stack of storage containers they are standing on, Nepgear could barely see the rows and rows of containers. You can probably fill at least a dozen of football fields with just how many there are.

"It's like a finding a straw in a stack of needles," Compa commented. "We'll never find Nep-Nep and the others in time."

"That's not how the saying goes. But don't lose hope, Compa," the brunette reassured. "Let's think about this logically. Keep an eye out for a locked container that looks relatively new."

Toby walked to the edge of the container. "That should be easy. Most of them got rust on the edges. But what makes you think they won't be in any of the old ones?"

IF moved beside the teen. "According to Good Luck Lana, our spy, the ship had been sitting around catching dust for the past few months. Including the containers. Containers like these aren't strong enough to contain a CPU, so they probably had one custom made. So keep your eyes peeled for any new containers. They could be in any of them."

"Even in the one above us?" Compa innocently asked.

Nepgear looked straight up. "Above us?"

Because of the thick fog, it was rather unclear. But she could just barely make out a rectangle quickly getting bigger. Or rather, quickly descending towards them.

"... Whoa! Watch out!" she shouted as she tackled Compa out of the way, which let out a small yelp out of surprise.

With a loud crash, the container slammed down.

"T-thanks G-G-Ge-Ge," the nurse stuttered. "M-m-my knees are still s-s-shaky."

"You have to get over it Compa! We're not safe yet."

Just like the candidate suspected, the container was being pulled up again. Someone must be using a freight crane to lift it up from a distance. If it wasn't for the mist, she would easily be able to spot the crane and get whoever was in it.

The container quickly moved to the side of the ship, only to swing back and hit the side of the stack the two were resting on. Nepgear carried Compa like a bride and flew up to avoid getting knocked off.

A few of the containers flew over the side of the ship.

"This is insane!" Nepgear shouted. "Neptune might be in one of those! I-... I have to do something!"

As she desperately looked for the crane, she saw her two other friends running for their dear lives, just barely dodging out of the way of another swing.

"Oh no! IF! Toby!"

"Gear!" IF shouted back while jumping over a gap, followed by the teen. "The front! Get to the front of the ship!"

"The front? R-right!"

Summoning a little platform with her share energy, the CPU bend her knees and launched off it at high speed. She reached the front in no time and surely, she spotted the bright yellow crane hidden in the mist.

"Compa. Hold on to me for a sec."

"Okay. Please don't drop me. I don't want to become a Compa pancake."

The nurse wrapped her arms around the candidate's neck and in turn Nepgear let go of her legs and held on to her with one arm. With her free arm, she summoned her gunblade.

"M.P.B.L.!" she cried, firing a pink laser at the crane's base.

Hitting it head-on, the crane began to tilt, slowly falling to the water.

Right before it could fall over, a grey figure quickly jumped out and safely landed on a container.

Her opponent has finally shown herself.

"Alright. Compa. Let's get them together."

Nepgear set her childhood friend down. She quickly got her oversized syringe from 'somewhere' and held it in both hands. "Yep yep. Let's beat up mister bad men and free Nep-Nep!"

Until now, the figure had been standing there, looking menacingly. Whoever it was must be tough. They wouldn't let their sister be guarded by some weakling. It might even be Geoffrey or Rei standing there. The thought alone sent a shiver down Nepgear's spine.

"Alright, you broads. You ready for another round?" a tough girlish voice said. She knew that voice. It's been a long time, but she has heard it before.

"Miss Underling?" Compa asked.

"For the last time. My. Name. Is. Not. Underling."

"Wait. What are you doing here?"

Finally getting close enough for her to see, Underling smiled deviously. "Well ain't it obvious? I'm getting paid to kick your asses back into the sea and keep those stupid CPUs locked behind bars."

"But don't you get it?" Nepgear tried to argue. "Geoffrey isn't ASIC. He's not trying to revive some deity to fulfil all his wishes. He's literally trying to destroy Gamindustri! That includes you!"

Underling shrugged and took her pipe out. "Yeah. So what? I mean, yeah. He's a complete douche, standing me up on a 'date' when he was the one that reserved a spot at the restaurant." Underling visibly shuffled in place. Nepgear couldn't whether she was angry or felt abandoned. "But let me tell you, I think I know a little more than you do. Plus, do you know how much I'm earning an hour?"

"Definitely enough to last you a lifetime at this rate."

Underling frowned and gave her pipe a swing. "Oh, HA-HA. Very funny. Here's something you should laugh at. I'll punch you in the gut so hard, you won't even feel it. Right after I snapped that fragile little neck of yours."

The two girls looked at each other and then back at Underling. "I... don't get it," Compa said.

Underling hissed. "Whatever. Let's get this over with."

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

"..."

"Uggh. My head. What just happened? I feel like I had one too many last night." IF sat straight up. She tried to look around, but because she had hit her head on something she can't quite remember, she was seeing stars. Not to mention everything is hazy, her ears are ringing, and she has a throbbing headache.

The agent could vaguely hear someone call out her name several times.

It was Toby, which suddenly emerged from out of the mist. The teen kneeled down and said something. Or so IF assumed, considering his mouth was moving, but she couldn't hear him say anything because of the ringing in her ears.

IF shook her head with narrowed her eyes. "What?"

The teen's mouth moved again, although this time she could actually hear some inaudible noises come out.

"S-say that again?" IF asked, slightly tilting her head.

This time, the teen just stared at her for a second before getting up and handing her a bottle of medicine. Again, his mouth was moving, but he was also pointing at his ear. He probably asked if something was wrong with her hearing.

The agent opened the bottle and guzzled its bitter contents down. Shortly after, the ringing faded away and her headache became somewhat bearable.

"Alright. I can hear you now... I think. What was that?"

Toby pointed behind him with his thumb. "I said, I think I found the container with Neptune and the others. It's relatively new, locked, and chained to the ground it wouldn't fall overboard."

"Really? Great. But what about Compa and Nepgear? How are they doing?"

The teen shrugged. "No idea. I can see Nepgear in the distance over there. She's the purple glowing ball of light rapidly dashing left to right, I guess?"

IF looked to where the teen was pointing. Sure enough, a lilac-coloured spec dashed around like she used to do with a laser pen to play with the Dogoo's on the edge of Planeptune.

"I guess she found whoever was in that crane."

"Should we run over and help her out?" Toby asked as he stretched his hand to the agent.

IF grabbed his hand and got up. "Meh. She'll be fine. She and Compa should be able to handle it. Let's not forget why we're here. Where'd you find that container?"

"Right this way. Follow me."

The Toby jogged forward with IF right next to him.

"You know," IF began, "if you found them, why didn't you free them yourself?"

The let out an awkward laugh. "Eheh... Yeeeah. About that..."

* * *

 **Earlier**

After finally finding the container that held the four goddesses, the only thing standing between him and getting to meet his idol in real life was a pathetic little padlock.

"Dang. It. Open. Up. You. Piece. Of. Crap!" the teen yelled each word as he hit the padlock with a steel pipe found laying around on the deck.

No matter how hard he tried, though, the lock didn't budge. Considering was trying his hardest, Toby felt rather annoyed at his display of failure.

After at least fifty hits, Toby stopped to catch his breath.

"Huff... Puff... Huff... Puff... Nghh. Maybe IF knows anything about smashing locks."

* * *

"And that's how I failed to open that little lock," Toby explained.

For some reason, the agent couldn't do anything but give the teen a pity smile. "Two things. First, I find it mildly concerning you completely forgot about me after finding that container."

Toby scratched behind his ear. "Sorry. I just got excited about finding them."

"Don't sweat it. Anyway, second, how are you so sure they're in there?"

"Well, I just knocked and heard some mumbling in response. Anyway, I think it was this one."

Among all the containers, Toby pointed at a grey one with steel chains going all around it. While it was at the bottom of the stacked containers, it was undoubtedly the most odd looking one, being the only one chained up.

"Hum. Not bad for a rookie, Toby. I'll put this on your guild profile."

"You'll put 'capable of finding a straw in a stack of needles' on my profile?" the teen jokingly asked.

IF sighed while inspecting the lock. "Again, not how the saying goes. Let's see..."

The lock is the only thing keeping the chains together. Destroying it would certainly unlock the door. From its design, all she had to do was give it a diagonal sweep from upper left to down right. Funny enough, there were a few dents on the upper right side. If only the teen had aimed at the other side...

"Alright. Stand back."

With one swing of her qatar, IF broke through the lock, resulting in all the chains around it to break loose.

"Smooth move," Toby mumbled just loud enough for IF to hear.

"What can I say. It's all in the wrist" IF boasted. "Now then. Time to get Nep back into the game and-... uh..." The agent stopped as she looked at Toby. He has an odd smile spreading on his face, like a teen being a little too proud he just farted without anyone noticing. That kind of goofy smile.

"You okay there Toby?"

"Huh? Yeah, no, I, uh... eheh. I'm as cool as an aaah... As a cucumber."

"Riiight. Imma just open this thing now."

"G-go on." Toby nervously replied.

IF turned her back to the teen and put both her hands on the handle. Before she opened the door, though, she turned back to the teen. "You're thinking of something perverted, aren't you?"

"W-what? No!" The teen denied. "I just... I was just... uh. I've just been looking forward to meeting goddesses. That's all. I mean, they're gods. Why wouldn't I be excited?"

IF turned back to the handle. "Well then... Prepare to meet a goddess with anger issues, one so tsundere it makes even a cactus look pale in comparison, another as perverted as you just looked a second ago, and lastly... well, however we just described Nep a few minutes ago."

* * *

 _"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. It's happening,_ " Toby thought, barely able to contain his excitement. " _It's finally happening. I'm meeting Neptune. THE Neptune. Master of fourth wall breaking, devourer of pudding, best goddess of them all. Not only that, but I also get to meet the other three. This is like the best day in my life! It was so worth sleeping in that crappy apartment every night... I still don't know what that smell is in there. But who cares! Time to meet the four goddesses IRL_."

While Toby was having his internal monologue, IF was struggling to pull the handle up. "I'd appreciate your help right about now."

"Huh? Oh. Right!"

Putting his hand over IF's and his other bellow the handle, the two barely managed to pull it open.

IF gave the teen a nod as a thank you and pulled the door open.

"Oh my god, here it comes!"

The two gazed inside. It was rather dark, but they both could hear someone or something moving.

Toby noticed a little light switch to the side and flicked it on.

Both the agent and the teen had to put their hand before their eyes when the container suddenly lit up. Having been on the dark, murky ship for so long, their eyes had to adjust.

When Toby opened his eyes again and looked inside, he began to smile, which quickly faded and was replaced with an unsure look.

Sure enough, the four goddesses sat there, tied up with some rope and piece of cloth stuffed into their mouth. Neptune was the first to catch Toby's attention. Wearing her usual outfit from Re;Birth 3, she looked a little different from what he expected.

Not only was she a lot shorter than he thought, but for some reason Toby felt like she looked a little... off? Maybe it was her naturally coloured hair. Sure, he was expecting it, but never before had Toby actually seen anyone with a hair colour like that in real life.

And then there were her eyes. They're as big as baseballs. Taking up at least forty percent of her face.

She also looks a lot younger than he imagined. He almost feels like a creep for... uh...

Toby shook his head and snapped back to reality.

"L-let's get them untied."

Toby glanced at IF (and couldn't help but notice she too had similar baseball eyes, which he never spotted before for some reason). She appeared to be lost in thought, so Toby finally gave her a little love tap.

"What? Oh. Yeah. Let's."

The two quickly untied the four girls and removed their gag.

As expected, Neptune was the first to speak up. "Geeeez. Talk about bad transport. I'm so gonna give this a bad review. They didn't even have complimentary peanuts on board."

Noire stretched arms. "You don't have to force in a joke now of all times."

"Not even extended captivity can change that one's attitude," Blanc noted as she dusted her hat off. "That's quite a talent, actually."

"Goodness, where are your manners, ladies?" Vert said with a scolding tone. "Aren't you forgetting something? Thank you for rescuing me Iffy. And you too, mister..."

"T-Tob, Tobiast, abpf, Tobias Ka-Karston," the boy nervously introduced himself. "B-butjustcallmeToby."

"Hm? My, are you really that afraid of meeting a goddess in person?" The blonde asked as she put both hands on his shoulders, making him jump a little. "There now. Breath in. Breath out. Inhale. Exhale."

Taking deep breaths, Toby managed to (sort of) keep his inner fanboy suppressed. "S-sorry. I, uh... It's just... I'm not sure what to say."

"You can be cliché and ask us if we'd like to go out with you and start your OC harem," Neptune bluntly said.

The teen's heart skipped a beat or two. "Who should do what now?"

"D-don't just say that, you idiot!" With a wide blush, Noire softly bonked her on the back her head.

"Ow! No fair, Noire! I've been holed up in there for hours," Neptune whined. "At least let me blow off some steam."

"Neptune!" Someone yelled.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Nepgear dived onto Neptune and embraced her in a tight hug. "Neptune! Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Has he been feeding you well? Are you hungry? Don't worry! I'll feed you like a lil' Dogoo pup when we get home!"

"W-whoa there, N-Nep Jr. Can't... Breath... Need... Oxygen!"

While Nepgear was almost choking her sister to death, IF and Noire chose not to intervene. Meanwhile Vert was watching the spectacle with a cheeky smile.

Blanc stepped forward to face Toby. "You there."

"Uhh... Me?"

"Yeah. You. Thanks for helping out."

With her usual poker face, Blanc softly padded the teen on his back.

"Oh. No problem. You're lady Blanc, right?"

"Yeah... Just call me Blanc, please."

"Alright, Blanc. Nice to meet you. I'm Toby."

A short silence befell on the two.

"So. Was it bad being stuck in that prison?" the teen asked to try and get a conversation going.

"Could've been worse..." Blanc simply responded.

"I see."

"..."

" _Man, Blanc really is hard to get talking_ ," the teen thought. " _Maybe she doesn't like guys. Oh well. This isn't really the place to just hang around anyway._ "

Conveniently, Noire cleared her throat and spoke up. Toby also noticed Compa had rejoined the party while he was having his talk with Blanc. How convenient.

"I hate to ruin this moment, but this isn't exactly the place where you two should be making out," Noire said with a sarcastic tone as she closed her eyes and transformed into Black Heart. "Instead, try to make yourselves useful and transform so we can fly ourselves out of here."

Nepgear got off her big sister, which more disappointed than relieved to be freed. "Party pooper," she said with a pouty face before also transforming. "Well then. Come here Compa. I'll carry you back to Planeptune in no time."

"Really? Okay. Please don't go too fast, Nep-Nep."

The purple CPU took hold of Compa and carried her like a bride before taking off at a moderate pace followed by Nepgear.

Both Noire and Vert also transformed into Black Heart and Green Heart respectively.

"Very well. I suppose I'll be carrying you then, Iffy," Green Heart suggested.

"Eh. I don't mind. Just don't drop me on the way."

And just like Purple Heart carried Compa, so did Green Heart with IF, flying off into the horizon.

For a moment Black Heart just looked at her friend and the teen. She then let out a small laugh. "He's all your, Blanc," She said before flying off.

Toby and Blanc looked at each other.

"Hmph."

Being the only one left behind with the boy and having no other choice, Blanc transformed and suddenly tossed him over her shoulder.

"Eep!" Toby yelped out of surprise.

"Don't get the wrong idea, kid," White Heart exclaimed with her usual angry tone. "I'm just carrying you so you won't have to swim all the way back. But if I feel your hands reaching anywhere they don't belong, I'm dropping you."

"P-please don't drop me!" the teen pleaded. "Why would I even try and do that when you're the one giving me a lift."

"Boys will always be boys. Now hang on tight, because we're taking off."

"Wait, if I can't touch anything then what am I supposed to hang on to?"

Without replying, the CPU of Lowee launched off at top speed to catch up to the others.

This was going to be a long flight.

* * *

 **Several days later**

"Stupid, annoying, inconvenient teleporter crap," Linda complained as she walked down the hall of Tari's Basilicom. "Of course it had to just go out and break on me when I needed it the most."

After her crushing defeat on the ship, the delinquent's teleporter seemed to have spontaneously broken for no good reason. She had to swim all the way back to the shore. And after that, she still had to walk back to Tari. All while being gravely injured.

She would've called for a taxi. But she quickly figured she forgot her phone back on the ship.

What aggravated her the most was the fact that her 'boss' got to watch it all from his comfy chair. The bastard probably watched it all with popcorn in one hand and soda in another.

But she's finally back. Ready to give the crook an earful.

Not even bothering to knock, Linda pushed the door open with a loud 'Ka-Thunk' and stepped on the cyan blue carpet of the office.

"Ka-thunk!? Abnes?" Geoffrey asked from his leather office chair facing the large back window of the room.

The office is, like you'd expect, cyan themed. With a large window overlooking the western half of Tari and a desk with a computer on it, the only things that would stand out are the telescope looking through the window and the two marble busts of Rei. One of her in her CPU form, the other of her in her human form.

"Who? No, you dolt. It's me. Your assistant!" Linda nearly shouted.

"Oh. Why didn't you call? Could've picked you with a limo or a heli or something."

Stepping forward, Linda slammed both hands on the mahogany desk. "I forgot my phone on the ship. But I ain't here for a reimbursement phone. I'm here for that promise you made for making me act like a decoy."

With his chair still facing the back window, the man turned his head slightly to the left to look at the girl. "Didn't even know you had such a wide vocabulary. Reimbursement. Next you'll start saying things like... Je ne sais quo. Or fence-sitting."

"I don't know what that means and I don't care." Linda slammed her hands on the desk once more. "Stop beating around the bush and give me what I asked for, you creaton."

The man sighed and turned his chair to the girl. Shockingly, the man's right arm was wrapped in bandages, probably broken, his right eye was covered by an eye patch, and a large sutured cut ran from his forehead straight down to his chin. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. Let me just get my keys."

"W-whoa, hey. What happened to your face? And your arm?"

"Huh? Oh right. You haven't been here for the past few days. Yeah, Rei didn't really like me 'accidentally' letting the CPUs escape." He wagged his fingers to quote 'accidentally'. "Don't worry. Nothing a little modern medicine can't heal. I actually had to buy a new liver from a hospital on Earth. I mean, I could've cloned my body and put my mind in that one, but I'd rather avoid that risk."

The punk's eyes widened. "You just said so many bad things so casually, I'm not sure what to think of you anymore."

The man shrugged and laughed. "Heh. Whatevs. Aren't you forgetting why you're here in the first place?"

"Of course not. Just-"

"Stop right there," the man said as he used his free hand to take a small key out of his jacket's pocket. "I had already prepared everything long before you got here. In fact, she's already back alive."

"S-she is?"

Geoffrey slowly rose up from his chair and limply walked out of the office, gesturing Linda to follow him. "I assume you want to see her. And you can. Under one condition."

"What's that?" Linda asked as she tailed the man.

"I simply ask you to not kill me. I mean, if I'm gone, who's gonna keep Rei in check?"

Linda gave the man a look of disgust and disappointment. "Do you really think we'll beat a crippled old man after he just did me a huge favour?"

"...Yes?"

"No, we won't, you jerk. Beside, we got nowhere to stay. So we're staying here."

The man groaned. "Fine. Just don't make a mess."

With that, a silence befell on the two. It was a great opportunity for Linda to realise what really was happening right now. She finally paid off her debt, her boss is letting her stay in a luxurious Basilicom and she gets to meet her role model again after so long.

After so long.

So long.

Something good is actually happening to her.

She's even getting butterflies in her stomach.

" _It's been a while_ ," she thought. " _but I'm finally getting to see you again, CFW Magic_."

* * *

 **And that concludes the introduction arc. Next up will be the wrath of none other than CFW Magic.**

 **On a side note, I'd like to mention I do read every review and try to respond to each of them. So feel free to let me know what you think.**

 **Next arc: Return of ASIC**


	4. Chapter 4 - Nothing Special is Neppening

**Quick notice before you read this chapter: The second halve of this chapter can be considered as 'filler'. I don't see it as a bad thing, but I know some people do. So fair warning.**

 **Chapter 4: Nothing Special is Neppening**

It's been nearly a week since Toby and the others freed the CPUs. Things have been rather quiet ever since. Because of their lack of shares and the fact none of them could return to their respective nations considering Rei is still in control of them, the CPUs had to resort to doing quests to get back on track. And fortunately for Toby, he was allowed to tag along with them sometimes. But he couldn't help but wonder what happened to Uni, Rom and Ram after they tried to 'liberate' Lastation.

"This will end it!" Toby shouted, slicing a plummet in half with his blade and after a brief delay, both halves exploded into a bunch of glowing binary numbers.

Noire, which had been resting on a stump, got up and whipped her hair. "Not bad. But far from good. clearly, you can do better than that."

" _That_ _'_ _s probably the best I_ _'_ _m getting out her when it comes to praising,_ _"_ Toby thought.

As for now, Noire had decided to take Toby with her on a duo quest. This wasn't anything new for the teen. He'd been on plenty of duo quests even before he had freed the CPUs. Plus, the other goddesses had dragged him along several times before. For some reason, Neptune even took him with her for over eight times in a weeks' time. Probably because it would mean she could sit back and relax while he did most of the heavy lifting.

"Anyway, that should just about do it," Toby said while looking up said quest on his watch to make sure they didn't miss any monsters. "Yep. Killed everything we needed to."

"Good. I feel like I've spent almost too much time doing such an easy quest." Noire took an escape button from her hammerspace and was about to press it.

"Before you press that," Toby interrupted, "mind if we walk our way out of here? I've been meaning to ask something."

Noire stared at the teen while she held her thumb over the button. "What's that?"

"Well, this might come out of nowhere, but I was wonder... How did this Geoffrey person manage to take over Gaminudstri so easily?"

As if insulted, Noire glared at the teen coldly. "What? Why are you asking me? You've had plenty of opportunities to ask anyone else."

"Well, uh..." the teen looked around, trying to come up with a good reason. "It's just that when I asked Blanc she got super angry. And when I asked Neptune she'd always say... Ahem"

The teen cleared his throat and did his best to sound like Neptune.

" _Don_ _'_ _t ask that stuff, you silly sally. That_ _'_ _s the unwritten magic the reader is supposed to fill in with their imagination._ Or something like that."

"Solid impression. That does sound like her," Noire admitted. "In other words, you're resorting to me, because no one else could tell you?"

Confused, the teen shook his head. "What? No, of course not. It's just that, uh, that I never got ask you. Don't be like that, Noire. We're friends, right? You can tell me."

The teen made sure to emphasise on the word friend.

"F-friends!?"

"Yeah. Buddies."

Maybe it was the teen's imagination, but he could swear a light blush appeared on the girl's cheeks. "W-well, of course, we're friends. W-why wouldn't we. It'd be weird if weren't. Aha...ha..."

"Uh... You okay?"

"Eh? Y-yeah. I'm fine. What was it you wanted to know?"

Happy with his successful persuasion, the teen mentally bumped his fist into the air. "Oh, I was just wondering how that Geoffrey guy managed to take over Gamindustri. Nothing much."

"That's it? Yeah, I can see why you came to me. The others would rather not talk about, whereas I for one know to review my past failures so I won't make them again."

"What? I mean, yes. That."

Noire made a cocky smile and walked past the teen with her eyes closed. "Very well. I'll explain on the way out."

" _Hum. Who knew Noire would be this happy to have someone call her a friend,_ " Toby thought, quickly picking up his pace to match Noire's.

"Now then," the girl began. "Where to start...?"

"At the beginning of the end, I guess?"

The twin-tailed girl gave Toby a confused look. "What does that even mean? I'll just start at the beginning. Right after he turned on us."

Noire sighed and narrowed her eyes.

"So... After he did _that_. He somehow took Rei, rebuilt Tari and everything went from bad to worse after that."

"How so?" Toby asked. "You could've stopped him right before he got out of hand with Rei right?"

Noire bit her lip and looked down. "I had the same thought. But... Surprisingly, it didn't go that well."

"Why?"

"It's hard to put it to words. But in a nutshell, I suppose you could say the guy was just smarter."

"Smarter?"

"Yeah. Every time we tried to do something, he'd never fight us. He'd avoid us and steal shares right from under our noses. Plus, any time we did catch him, he'd summon Rei to defend him. It was a real pain to deal with."

"But you're CPUs, right? If you can beat Rei with just the four of you, then what's stopping you from taking down Rei now?"

"Several reasons. One, we don't even know where she is right now. Presumably, she's somewhere in Tari. Waiting for us to come for her. But we don't know for certain. Secondly, we barely have any shares as it is. If we went after her now, we would definitely lose. Third, if we go after Rei, there's a high chance Geoffrey will kill all the other CPUs he still is holding captive. And if we go after Geoffrey, Rei might do it in his place."

"I see... Say. This Geoffrey person. What's he like?"

Noire raised an eyebrow. "Hm? I don't really know him too well, but from what I remember he was always kind of like Neptune in a good way. Energetic, easy to befriend and always able to put a smile on your face. I still don't know why he wears that silly black top hat though."

Toby averted his gaze. "Yeah... Alright. So nothing about him sounds evil. And he has a top hat. That's nice."

When the two finally got out of the dungeon, Noire took a left turn. Toby, however, stopped and looked to his right.

"Hm? You're not coming with me?" Noire asked.

"N-no. I, uh, Still have something to do back home. Thanks for answering my question. I'll see you later."

"Alright. Take care."

Waving the teen off, Noire turned around and kept on walking down the road alone. Toby walked the opposite way to his apartment.

* * *

After getting to his apartment, the teen climbed the stairs, went through the door and sat down on his bed, looking down at the floor.

He took a deep breath. In. And out. Closed his eyes. And took a moment to clear his mind.

...

Having calmed himself, the teen opened his eyes again and spoke his thoughts out loud.

"Mister Lance can't be the same Geoffrey as this one. The two have the same name, both are scientists and they share the same look. But... if this is another dimension, why wouldn't it be his evil counterpart?"

" _Are you in denial, Nifty?_ _"_ his watch suddenly asked.

The teen checked his watch. "Huh? Oh. Siri. I wasn't asking you, really. I was just talking to myself. Also, didn't we change the username?"

" _Negative. Username_ _'_ _Nifty_ _'_ _is still in use._ _"_

Toby rolled his eyes. "Right. Cool. Anyway, what was that about being in denial?"

" _As an AI, I am programmed with the psychological knowledge to prevent users from feeling lonely._ _"_

"... Man, IF must've had some low expectations of me."

" _In either case, your current state of mind is called denial. You refuse to believe that the two Geoffrey_ _'_ _s, your role model and the villain, are the same person._ "

"Do you have any proof then?"

" _Negative. But may I suggest looking it up?_ _"_

"Look it up?"

His watch automatically opened his chirper. " _Searching for user Geoffrey... Searching... Searching... Searching... Two matches found._ _"_

The two matches appeared on his display. The first one being none other than Geoffrey. The second match was Good Luck Lana, the spy from the guild. What a coincidence.

The teen opened his supposed role model's chirper and checked the posts and pictures. Unsurprisingly, one of the posts was identical to one of his dimension's Geoffrey's twitter.

With the two being a clear match, the teen dug his face into both his palms. " _Shit_ ," he cursed mentally. There'd be no way that this is a coincidence _._ " _Ugh. Man, I feel like an idiot now. It kinda makes sense now. How I actually got here and all. The teleporter must've been connected to Histoire's one all along."_

But that does open up another question. Why would his boss send him, of all people, to a world from which he stole technology for his own greedy purposes? Or... Maybe he didn't send him over? What would the benefit be anyway?

* **Beep** *

Snapping back to reality, the teen checked his watch to see who had just sent him a message.

It was from Neptune. With as subject 'super urgent bad news come here!'

" _Toby! There_ _'_ _s something terrible happening and we need your help to do something!_

At first, the teen didn't think much of this. This is the fourth message Nep has sent him like this. And last three times she simply wanted him to fetch her a cup of pudding.

He slowly got up and stepped out of his apartment, heading to the Basilicom.

"I guess I'll think it over again later," he mumbled.

* * *

Stepping out of the elevator, Toby walked down the hall to the living room. He noticed it was exactly the same as in the anime. With its rose-red couch and a bean bag of a similar colour in the middle and a glass dining table at the opposite side of the room, the room looked a lot smaller than it did in the anime. Probably a perspective thing. At least the view from the massive window is nice though. Planeptune's Basilicom has a thing for windows with nice views.

Surprisingly, the room was empty. He was at least expecting Neptune to be there, playing one of her eight brand new consoles resting below the flat screen TV.

"I wonder if people in Gamindustri pay taxes so Neptune can afford all those games and console," Toby wondered out loud.

The teen walked through the room and took a moment to just let it sink in... Hey, don't blame him. Wouldn't you if you were in his shoes?

Suddenly, the teen noticed a tray of Nepsi on the table.

"Nepsi..." the boy repeated, taking hold of a can and reading the label over and over. "Geez, I wonder what this product is supposed to represent in real life."

Toby opened the can and took a sip. Yep. Even tastes the same.

He then noticed a number of notes beside the tray.

" _Neptune, please put your groceries in the fridge! Don_ _'_ _t just leave them on the table for us to put away! -Histoire_ _"_

The first note's handwriting was quite good.

The second note, on the other hand, looked like it was written by a toddler.

 _"_ _histy i know but next time you should do it because my fuel might *_ _ **random scribbling***_ _okay?_ _"_

" _Neptune, please. Just put it away yourself! -Histoire_ _"_

 _"_ _Dear Histoire, Maybe I can do it? Kind regards, Nepgear_ _"_

 _"_ _Nonsense! Stop pampering your sister for every little task. If she can_ _'_ _t even be bothered to perform basic human duties, how will she ever be able to properly act like a goddess? -Histoire_ _"_

There were about twenty more notes left to read. Before he could find the next note, however, the teen noticed the open door to his left. Behind it was the kitchen with the fridge in it.

Toby decided to just walk away from the rather strange scene. Neptune is probably wondering what's taking him so long.

Leaving the living room, the teen walked through the hall and looked for Neptune's room. It wasn't too hard to find. She had conveniently hung a sign with 'Nep's room' on the door.

Toby knocked on the door twice and waited for a response. He knows what kind of situations you can get in if you enter an anime girl's room without knocking first.

"I have been expecting you, side-protagonist Original Character Tobiscuit," Neptune shouted in a dramatic fashion from inside her room.

"Wait who? No, it's just me. Toby. You asked me to come. Can I come in?"

"Such a polite gal. Come on in."

Toby opened the door and stepped into the room. The room was about as big as his entire apartment. There were several shelves lined up against the wall filled to the brim with games for several consoles. Against the middle of the left wall stood a bed with a pink blanket and a purple pillow. None other than Neptune herself laid belly up on the bed, button mashing away on a handheld console Toby didn't recognise.

In one corner, Blanc sat on a bean bag, reading a book with 'How To Get a New Hobby' on the cover. Next to her sat Vert reading a manga with two handsome young men on the cover. Toby decided to ignore it.

On the bed, Noire sat with her hands on her lap next to Neptune, looking down with an irritated expression on her face.

"Oh. You're all here," Toby commented. "So why'd you call me?"

Neptune shrugged without looking up from her game. "Eh. No reason. Just wanted to hang out. That's all."

Noire bit her lower lip, but didn't speak up.

Vert looked up from her manga. "Indeed. I didn't really get to know our saviour yet, so I also came along."

"... Yeah." Blanc confirmed without looking up from her book.

Toby got slightly confused. "Wait, really? I mean, according to your message you needed me to come over ASAP for something urgent."

"Nope. Not me," Neptune denied, rolling over to lay on her stomach. "Must've been a faker. An edgy, dark Neptune with red hair created by an evil scientist to destroy the world. I can't think of any other explanation."

Toby looked at the other girls. None of them seemed to find anything wrong with what the random girl just said. "I see. Right. Must be real _chaos_ to _control_ such a Neptune. No _shadow_ of doubt."

The teen walked over to the bed and sat down next to Noire.

No one in the room said anything. The only noise was coming from Neptune's handheld and the occasional page being turned by the two reading goddesses. The teen looked at the others, but each of them was busy minding their own business, except for Noire. She still has yet to say anything... Or do anything... Or move a muscle.

Something fishy is going on here.

Whatever it is, it made Toby feel rather uncomfortable. The entire atmosphere in here feels off. As if he's being forced into something.

" _Might as well just do something, I guess,_ " the teen thought as he took out his phone to check it once more. Still _No Signal_. So he just put it away again and took a sip from his can of Nepsi before checking his watch after putting Siri's voice on mute.

"Toby," Noire began.

"What's up?"

"Well... There's, uh... 'something' we have to ask."

The teen looked at the twin-tailed girl beside him. She looked rather nervous. It was obvious now. He's going to be in a pretty crappy situation.

"What about?" He calmly asked, trying to convince himself he's being presumptuous and nothing weird is going to happen in the next minute or so.

"Well, the four of us were just, uh, talking like a couple of friends-"

"HA! Friends." Neptune teasingly shouted in-between lines. Noire chose to ignore whatever her implications were.

"-and we were, you know, just going along subjects like normal social people do and we came to this subject about, well, you, I guess."

"Me?" Toby asked while taking another sip of his drink.

"Yeah. And then we kind of were... Ugh... We were..."

"She wants to know which one of us you would date," Blanc abruptly concluded.

Being caught off guard, the teen spat out his drink, right out of the open window.

* **PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF** * "WHA!?"

Toby heard Neptune suppressing her laughter behind him while shuffling around.

He quickly turned to Vert, which closed her manga and got up. "Straightforward as always, aren't we, Blanc?"

Blanc slammed her book shut with a loud thud. "She was taking so long. I just thought it would be nice to end her suffering by saying it myself."

"Suffering?" Noire questioned. "Well, I wasn't doing _that_ bad, was I?"

For some reason, everyone around Toby took the question as if it was nothing serious. Trying his best, the teen tried to stay just as calm. "W-wha-, but... uh... Why?"

Well, at least he tried.

Neptune, still button mashing, spoke up. "Well, like Noire said, we were just talking like friendly friends or whatever and then Vert was like ' _Everyone knows men just love a woman with a bit of bracket._ ' So naturally, I told her how wrong she was and that all the boys are attracted to girls with an ecstatic personality like yours truly. _"_

A large anime style sweat drop appeared on Vert's forehead while settling down next to Toby on the bed. "I don't recall saying it like that. It also sounds rather brutish when you say it out of context."

"Point is, you started it," Blanc said, sitting down next to Vert on the bed. "But I think you're far from close to home. Everyone knows men prefer brains over boobs."

"They sure do, Blanc. They sure do," Vert sarcastically agreed, receiving a mean look from the petite CPU.

Still confused, the teen shook his head quickly and snapped back to his senses. "Wait, what do I have to do with any of this?"

Still rolling around on the bed, enjoying her game a little too much, the ecstatic girl responded. "Oh, don't be like that. Ye know darn well what we lassies are sayin', bucko. You're a boy AND you got no girlfriend. It's a match made in heaven for you to answer this question."

" _... No need to rub it in_ ," the teen thought.

"Basically, we can't ask this anyone else," Noire explained. "So Neptune just called you and here you are. So which one would you go out with?"

"I, uh... Well..."

Being put on the spot, the teen had no idea how to respond. It feels like every one of them is looking right through him with their big round puppy eyes. He can even feel Neptune's gaze pierce his back. What should he do? If he picks one, the others (or at least Blanc) will get mad at him and he may even have to date the person he picks. Not that he considers this a bad thing, but now is not the time to be thinking about a serious relationship.

He then suddenly notices his watch and gets a bright idea.

"Well... Uh, this is kind of an awkward question for me to answer," he started.

"How so?" the blonde asked.

"You said I'm single, but I kind of already got a... girlfriend?"

"..."

No one in the room responded. A long and awkward silence lingered in the room until every goddesses shouted 'WHAT' at once. Except for Neptune, which shouted something among the lines of 'NANI'.

"Y-yeah. I do... H-honestly. Here. Let me just 'call' her."

The teen quickly tapped through his watch's menu and activated the conversation app's 'lovely-dovey mode'. It also made him wonder how lonely IF thought he would get if she had this installed for him.

" _Hey, boyfriend._ _"_ His watch nonchalantly said with its usual robotic tone. Boyfriend... This is never going to fool anyone.

"H-hey, Siri. It's me. N-Nifty. Can you just tell, uh... Nep and the others how cool I am."

" _Certainly. I can fill exactly four hours, nine minutes and seven seconds with dialogue on how cool my boyfriend_ _'_ _Nifty_ _'_ _really is._ "

The teen looked up to see if the girls were falling for his little lie.

While everyone else seemed to be falling for it, Blanc narrowed her eyes and looked at the watch carefully. "Hmm... I don't buy it."

Neptune suddenly jumped on the teen's back and peeked past his shoulder at Blanc. "What's there not to buy, Blanc? He ain't selling his girly... Wait. You actually swing that way? "

"What kind of perverted thoughts are you even thinking of!?" Blanc angrily exclaimed, jumping up from her spot. "I'm saying I don't believe it!"

"It does sound rather fishy," Vert agreed. "Siri, wasn't it? Can you tell us a little about yourself?"

"..."

His watch didn't respond.

"Uh... Siri? Are you still there?" the blonde asked.

Toby looked at his watch. It displayed the main menu. "Hum. How strange. She must've ended the call. She's probably busy or... uh... something."

Truth be told, the teen had just disabled the program while no one was looking. It's not going to fool anyone for more than two minutes if he kept it on.

"... Still, doesn't mean you can't answer the question," Blanc retorted calmly. "Which one of us would you date if you could?"

"What? But didn't you want to ask someone that's still single?"

Noire shrugged. "That's something Neptune decided to add in. We just want to know which one of us you would take out on a... a... d-date."

Defeated, Toby sighed and took a deep breath. He doesn't want to be _that_ guy and say 'all of you are my good friends, so I'd take all of you.' Rather, he'd love to be original and do something no one would expect.

"I'd pick Blanc."

"NEPU!?"

"Huh?"

"Blanc?"

"M-me!?"

"Yeah. You. Why not? You're cool."

"..."

For a moment everyone looked at the teen dumbfounded. Blanc slowly opened her book again and hid her face in it. "... Okay."

Suddenly, Nepgear slammed down the door and jumped into the room. "Everyone! Quick! Come to the living room! There's something terrible on TV!"

Neptune (somehow) jumped over Toby and perfectly landed on both her feet with a thumbs up. "Just change the channel," she advised.

"Huh? No, Neptune. I don't dislike the Planeptune News Channel. I mean there's bad news on TV. Come on. Check it out!"

Toby also got up and took a few steps towards the door. Nepgear's timing couldn't have been better. "Might as well give it a little looksie, right?"

"I don't see why not," Vert stated, also getting up and leaving the room. "If Nepgear says it's something bad, it must be truly terrible."

"This better be worth it," Noire said, following Vert.

The girls walked out of the room and followed Nepgear. Except for Blanc, which as still covering her face in her book.

"Aren't you coming?" Toby asked.

"...Go ahead without me." Blanc sheepishly responded.

"Alright then."

When Toby left the brunette all alone, she finally put her book down, having a wide blush on her face.

"No one... No one ever picked me over Vert before..." She quietly whispered. "I knew someone would realise I'm better eventually."


	5. Chapter 5 - Piracy Problems

**Chapter 5: Piracy Problems**

With Nepgear leading them, Toby, Neptune, Noire, and Vert followed the candidate to the living room. Once there, the teen noticed IF and Compa on the couch, looking at the TV with a shocked expression.

Everyone moved to either sit next to them or stand behind them.

Making himself comfortable next to IF, the teen leaned back. Looking at the TV, his eyes went wide with surprise.

There was a shady looking salesman wearing a suit with black reflective sunglasses on screen. He even had that genuine American salesman attitude. "-and that's not all you can do with these. If you have them installed on your LeanBox-X, it will unlock all games in the store for you! That's insane, right? And this all for the low, low price of 19.99 credits. Call now, and we'll double the offer just for this TV special. But wait! There's more. If you order now, we'll even triple the offer. That's right. We offer you six Rei Chips for the same price of 19.99 and-"

The shady salesman continued to make the offer look as charming as possible. The way he presented the product kind of reminded Toby of a certain American salesman.

" _Is he a long lost relative of Billy Mays? Who knows."_

Of course, no one in the room understood where these chips suddenly came from.

An outraged Noire pointed at the TV and looked at the others. "What the hell? Those chips are identical to those from ASIC. They just changed the name. I thought we dealt with those criminals."

"-I know what you're thinking. 'But Willy, will it work on my handheld?' Well, don't worry. If you call now, not only will you get a full set of six Rei Chips, but I'll also include six handheld chips. That's right. Six handheld chips. I don't even have that many fingers on one hand. So-"

While each of the goddesses discussed with each other on how to tackle this problem, Toby kept on looking at the TV, wondering how something like this could happen.

"Hey, Toby. See those two behind the salesman?" IF asked, pointing at the screen.

"You mean the grey-skinned one and the lilac-skinned one? What about them?"

"The woman on the right is CFW Magic. The old leader of ASIC."

Looking at the screen again, the teen noticed it too. It was definitely her. Evil red eyes.

Nearly nude appearance. Many reddish metallic wing... things. No doubt about it. It was the devout follower of Arfoire. "Wait. I thought she was supposed to be dead."

"She was," IF responded with her arms folded. "Me, Gear and, the others finished her off ourselves. No way she survived."

Neptune butted into the conversation from behind the couch by putting her head between that of IF and Toby. "So how's she back? Didn't we completely destroy the Deity of Sin? The true ending of Mk.2 is canon here, right?"

"Don't ask me," IF responded, looking past her friend's head at Toby. "If I were to guess, I'd that psycho Geoff is involved. Does he even realise what he's done?"

Back on the screen, the salesman was still busy praising the product. "-and we even asked a few customers of what they thought about our new chips. Just look at how satisfied even the CPU candidates of Lowee and Lastation are."

Wait what?

With an over the top 80's editing effect, it cut to footage of none other than Uni, the CPU candidate of Lastation and Noire's younger sister. Toby instantly noticed she looked rather beat up with several bruises and scratches on her arms. "I, uh... I-I love it. I approve of this product!"

Noire, most shocked of all, slammed both her hands on the couch and leaned forward.

"U-Uni!?"

The TV then cut to the twins Rom and Ram. While the focus was on them, there were two tall people, presumably men, standing behind them holding a hand on each of their shoulders. Of course, the focus was on the twins. Not on the men.

Toby could've sworn there were cuts running across their cheeks.

"T-this product is... A-amazing. I, uh, use it in my everyday life..." Ram 'praised' with teary eyes.

"I... love it... Mister bad men, please don't hu-"

Before Rom could finish her sentence, it cut back to the salesman. However, Nepgear, holding the remote, rewound the footage and paused at a shot of both twins. "Rom! And Ram! What have they done?"

Everyone in the room was speechless. One of their worst enemies is back for revenge and has now gotten hold of three CPU candidates.

Even Toby felt the magnitude of the situation they were being put in.

Suddenly, Histoire rushed into the room. "Everyone! Something terrible is happening! Our shares are plummeting. I haven't experienced such a drop in shares since the great share regression."

She then noticed the twins on screen. "Hm? What are Rom and Ram doing on screen? Are they... crying?"

Toby got up and took the remote from Nepgear. "It's a little hard to explain. You probably want to see for yourself. Here's the remote."

Passing the remote, Histoire took it in both hands and hugged it tightly, as it was a little bit bigger than her. She did eventually manage to hit the rewind button, but with some effort.

IF reached into her pocket and checked her phone. "Hum. That was quick. Lana never disappoints. Everyone, we already have a full layout of ASIC's new bases around Planeptune. I suggest we split ourselves in pairs and take down each of them. We might not be able to stop everyone's shares from dropping, but at least we can try and save Planeptune's."

"Pairs, huh?" Neptune's eyes darted around the room before she fixated them on Toby. "Alright. I'm taking the interdimensional teenager."

Toby narrowed his eyes as he looked back at Neptune. "This sounds familiar. Are you sure you actually want to _work_ with me?"

"Well duh. You and I make a dream team."

"Yeah, right. Remember the 'kill sixty-eight plus two minus one Dogoo' quest? If I remember correctly, you somehow managed to kill the minus one Dogoo."

The purple CPU proudly put her hands on her hips and raised her chin. "Eyup. Good job on me, huh?"

Toby couldn't help but snicker, despite the situation. Is she really that dense that she doesn't realise what he's implying or is she just acting oblivious? "Sorry, Nep. I already promised Vert I'd tag along with her."

"You did?" Vert asked, before noticing Toby's wink. "O-oh. Yeah. That you did. Sorry, Neptune."

Hearing this, Neptune frowned. "Aww. There goes my spotlight in this fic. Don't you know how much you disappointed every reader just now? I can already see the reviews. 'Nuooo. I wanted my adorable waifu Nepu-Nepu to be the next goddess to get her own chapter. Unsubscribed, disliked, and reported for spam' or something."

Toby raised his eyebrows and stared at the girl in confusion. " _So this is what it feels like when she breaks the fourth wall and you don_ ' _t have any idea what she_ ' _s even referring to,_ " the teen thought. " _This must be hilarious for the player... Or viewer... reader? Either one._ "

Quickly turning her frown upside-down, Neptune jumped next to Noire and hugged her arm.

"No matter. I guess I'll just go with Noire, because no one else would want to."

"Huh? H-hey! You're the one that just got rejected. What are you calling me a loner for?"

Neptune stuck out her tongue and winked. "I never said loner."

The loner in question closed her eyes. She looked like she wanted to do nothing more but punch the clingy girl right in the gut.

"Anyway," IF interrupted, "I guess Compa and I will be a pair. That leaves Gear with Blanc. You don't mind, do you?"

Nepgear smiled kindly. "Not at all. It's been a while since Blanc and I did something together."

"Alright. Everyone, I'll send each of you a copy of the map. Let's not waste any more time and move out."

With everyone agreeing, the duo's ran off to get ready. The pair of Noire and Neptune transformed and flew out of the window, while IF and Compa ran out of the room to take the elevator down. Nepgear ran back to Neptune's room to go and fetch Blanc.

Toby also wanted to run to the elevator, But Vert grabbed him by his shoulder and held him back. "Toby. Have you forgotten that I am a goddess and that I am capable of flying?"

"Uhh... Did you forget I am not a goddess and not capable of flying?"

Vert laughed the teen's witty retort off. "Well only one of us needs to be able to fly."

It took a second for the teen to register what Vert was implying. When he did, he shook his head out of panic. "Wait. No no. We ain't doing that. Last time I was taxi'd by a goddess, Blanc kept on shouting at me about not looking at her butt... Hard to look at anything else when hanging from her shoulder. Not that I was even trying to look at it."

The blonde sighed. "Typical Blanc. It's only natural for men to be interested in a lady's attributes."

"Yeah that's what I've been sayi-, wait what?"

Without another word, Vert transformed into Green Heart and carried Toby off his feet like a groom carrying a bride. "Try not to stare, alright?" she joked before flying out of the window and taking off.

Try not to stare... This proved to be impossibly difficult, considering Green Heart's breast were mere inches away from the teen's face. He could've sworn she was holding him like this deliberately... At least he didn't dislike the experience like he did last time.

* * *

Having arrived at the first hideout, Green Heart set down the teen before the entrance. "Are you sure this is the right place?" She quietly asked.

Toby checked his watch again. "Seems like it. Looks like an ordinary old apartment to me."

"It wouldn't exactly be a hideout if they made it look suspicious," Green Heart remarked.

"Right..."

The teen checked the door. Locked.

"Alright what's the plan?" He asked, still fidgeting with the door's lock.

Green Heart took a step back and inspected the building. She noticed a few large windows big enough for them to crash through on the second- and third floor. "Want to make a dramatic entrance?"

Toby looked back at the goddess. Noticing what she was gazing at, he got the idea. "I like it. Let's do it."

"Before we go through with this plan," goddess began, with a worried tone, "I have never actually seen you fight before. Are you sure you're ready to take on a whole group of other people?"

At first, Toby was taken back by her question. Was he supposed to feel good about her caring about his safety or bad about her doubts in his competence?

Toby cocked a smile and put a hand on his right hip. "They don't call me 'The Orange Outplay' back at my fencing class for nothing."

Quietly, the goddess tried to make sense of what the teen just said. "Wait. Do you wear that bodywarmer during sparring sessions? Don't have protective gear?"

The teen looked down at his bodywarmer, then back at the goddess. "What's wrong with a bodywarmer?"

"Nothing, but... Never mind. Let's just smash through that window and see how you'll do."

"Trust me. You won't even need to lift a finger after you got me through that window."

"If you say so. Now, I can't carry you while I have to hold my spear. Why don't you jump on my back for a piggyback?"

Without overthinking what Vert just asked of him, Toby jumped on her back between the processor unit's wings and wrapped his legs around her waist and his arms around her neck. Surprisingly, Vert was a lot more open to... 'make contact', unlike Blanc.

Slowly rising off the ground, Green Heart looked for a window with some people behind it.

"Get ready. We're going to catch them by surprise," she informed as her spear magically formed into her hand.

"Heh. I was born ready."

While sounding very confident, Toby was actually rather nervous. But also excited. His heart was pounding and his hands were a little sweaty. He felt like he was finally going to get into the action, ready to take on bad guys and be a hero for a change. What kind of heroic deeds has he performed while in Gamindustri anyway? Run away from a freight crane? Kill a few low-level monsters? Fetch a goddess pudding?

None of those things sound very heroic. But now, it was finally his time to shine.

Forcing him out of his thought, the goddess flew back a little before accelerating towards the window, holding her spear out like a lance.

"Here we go!"

Right before the impact, Toby closed his eyes and covered his face with one arm.

As he heard the loud crash, the teen jumped off the goddess' back and readied his blade.

Opening his eyes, the teen could see a massive open room with several crates stacked together on pallets being moved around by some delinquents and a few shady looking adults.

"H-huh? A CPU!?" One of the delinquents shouted, alarming the others.

"Oh no! Everyone grab a weapon!" One of the adults yelled while taking out a cutlass from his hammerspace.

Before anyone else could react, Green Heart swiftly slashed her way past several delinquents and disarmed the man with the cutlass with grace only a goddess could compare to.

But… did she just kill those men she slashed past? They're actually laying there, bleeding, on the cold polymer flooring.

Being in the middle of the action, Toby had very little time to mind the CPUs actions.

Quickly surrounding the teen, the group of criminals smiled deviously, declaring themselves already victorious.

"This ain't no place for no kid, boy."

"Yeah! You should be running home to your momma."

One of the bigger, bearded men, presumably the boss stepped out of the crowd. Ironically, he wore a silly pirate hat with a skull and crossbones on it. It matched his pirate coat fairly well. "Or don't. You'll give us the pleasure of tearing you to bloody pieces."

Toby returned the smile, knowing fully well he's being underestimated. "Ooh~. I'm sooo scared."

One of the men quickly dashed forward, his cutlass raised above his head, slashing it down at the teen. Toby quickly side-stepped and put the tip of his blade against the man's throat.

"W-what the hell?"

"Too slow!"

Toby quickly pulled his blade back and kicked his opponent in the gut. Before he could finish him off, two more men charged at him, but he quickly reeled back far enough for them to both miss. Relentlessly, the duo kept on swinging, hoping they would hit something eventually. But with the massive gap in skill, they were both left hitting nothing every time.

"Come on! Hit him, you slowpokes!"

Having played enough with his opponents, the teen raised his rapier and allowed them to clash their blades against his, forcing their blades against his handle.

Having both men within range, the teen used his off-hand to steal the blade from the goon on his left, while twisting his blade clockwise to twist his other opponent's wrist, forcing the blade out of his hand.

Confused, the two men attempted to run away, only to bump into each other in a comedic yet dumb fashion.

The boss gritted his teeth. "Incompetent shitheads..."

Noticing their boss growing more and more annoyed, the remaining goons rushed the teen. But because none of them were actually trained for combat, Toby managed to disarm them just as easily as he managed to take care of the other three. Allow them to clash, push all the way down to the handle, get in close, and either knock their blades out of their hand or take it and toss it away. And to finish it all off, he used the bud of his blade to knock each of them on the head as he finished his combo on them. Unlike Vert, he wasn't ready to actually kill anyone yet.

After a few minutes of mashing baddies, all but two were knocked down. Toby himself and the pirate captain.

"Whew. Almost as tough as fencing school... Almost."

A slow clap echoed through the room, sending a shiver down the teen's spine.

"Impressive, kid," the boss praised. "You took down about thirty of my men in just the blink of an eye. It's been a while since I've had such fresh meat for dinner."

The boss licked his lips and slowly walked forward. "Want to know why they call me Captain Nook? Because I show my opponent every nook and cranny once I wipe the floor with them." His accent was strong and pretty pirate-like. Each of them battered at the teen's will. They were clever, yet filled with a tone of hate.

The man certainly had plenty of intimidation methods, but Toby had the feeling his bite was a lot worse than his bark. For some reason, Toby was unable to move. Even the words he wanted to return got stuck in his throat. And with each step Nook took, the teen felt his skin grow even colder.

"R-really now?" he finally managed to force out. "Do you really think you'll be any different from these men?"

"Boy... I've been burning my name in the skins of scallywags like yourself when you were still soiling diapers. I know like none other that words mean nothing if you can't put them to promise."

The words hit the teen harder than they should've. With a dried throat, the teen made one last attempt to pick himself up and focus. Twisting his rapier to get a better grip on it, he pointed the tip at the dreaded captain. "Put 'em up, Nook."

"With pleasure."

The captain took out a flintlock pistol and a hatchet. "A slow, yet painful death will be your final reward for satisfying my lust for blood."

Nook quickly dashed forward, his axe ready to decapitate the teen. He wanted to move out of the way more than anything, but his legs refused to lift themselves.

"Hya!"

Toby instinctively closed his eyes and raised his arms to protect himself. Was this... the end?

* **Clank***

When he didn't feel the cold steel pierce his skin, he slowly opened his eyes again. Green Heart had stepped in at the last second to stop Nook's assault. "I asked you whether or not you would be fine, and here I am saving your neck from this hobo."

Pushing Nook back, Green Heart gave Toby a disappointed look.

"S-sorry. This is my first time fighting someone so... scary."

"Hmph. I'll let it slide this time. Just stand back and let me handle this."

Nook wiped the saliva off his lips with his wrist. "A CPU? Last time I fought one I lost because I underestimated how strong that hesitant purple whore was. This time, I'll bring someone as hardworking as a goddess to their final resting place. Death."

Green Heart twirled her spear a few times before taking it in both hands and readying it. "Tough words for a tough man. I'll give you credit where is due. But one cannot simply rely on brute strength alone."

"I assure you, I am more than just muscle. A captain needs a certain kind of... finesse, to lead his crew."

"Don't confuse brutality with skill. There is a wide gap between the two."

Nook laughed. "A simple retort from a simple girl. Draw!"

Suddenly, Nook aimed his pistol at Green Heart and fired. She quickly tilted her head slightly to the left, dodging the bullet.

Annoyed, the captain dashed forward again, smashing his axe against her spear, getting a light groan out of the CPU.

Pulling back, Green Heart flew up and dashed back down to stab Nook from above.

"Gah!"

Hitting him head-on, Nook was knocked backwards and fell flat on his back. He was incredibly lucky the impact didn't cause the tip to pierce right through his thick skull.

Hovering back up again and aiming her spear down, she tossed it right at the pirate. Nook wasn't going to just lay there and die though. He quickly managed to roll backwards and jump back on his feet. For someone his size, he was surprisingly agile.

Green Heart dashed down and pulled her spear free. Pausing for a brief moment, she carefully watched her opponent, looking for any openings. Captain Nook took a step back and did the same.

The two began pacing around the room in a circle, slowly, without ever looking away and keeping themselves focused.

"Ready to surrender?" Green Heart mockingly asked.

Nook cleared his throat and spat on the floor. "Save the banter for the nursery."

Suddenly, both sides charged forward simultaneously. With a loud smash, their weapons collided. Exactly according to the pirate's plan.

As Vert had to use both hands to hold her spear while he only needs to use one to use his hatchet, Nook used his pistol to shoot the CPU from point blank in the stomach.

The impact of the bullet sent the goddess back a bit, but she was able to keep herself on her feet.

With one hand on her stomach, she tossed her spear straightforward, sending it spinning towards the man, hitting him on his head with the handle and knocking him over again. So much for finesse.

Rolling on the floor in pain with both his hands on his the spot he was hit on, Nook cursed to himself.

Using this time, Vert checked her belly for the bullet. It didn't pierce her skin, but it was still incredibly painful.

Quickly sitting back up, Nook aimed his pistol above Green Heart and pulled the trigger.

The CPU looked up, only to be hit in the face with a large pallet with several crates on top of it.

"Vert!" Toby shouted.

After a brief moment, Green Heart emerged from the pile of Rei Chips. Seems like her HDD stat boosts had saved her once more.

But Nook wasn't going to just let her recover. He quickly closed the gap and began to swing his hatchet at the woman.

Vert was tough, but not that sturdy. She could block a few hits with her arms while dazed, but as Nook kept on swinging, he eventually managed to break her defences and deliver a crushing final blow, knocking her to her knees.

"Is this all the might you scum can deliver? I'm disappointed."

Nook put the barrel of his gun between her eyes. With Vert barely able to keep herself on her knees, Toby knew he probably should've stepped in minutes ago.

Using all his courage he had, he firmly grasped his blade and charged forward.

"Hey! Nook!"

"Hm? What the- Gah!"

Lunging forward, Nook raised his arm in defense, only for it to pierce right through him and still hit him on his shoulder.

Dropping both his weapons, the captain's eyes rolled into the back of his head. "C-cheap shot... S-...Ssscum."

The captain raised his fist, but Toby pulled his blade back and punched the man in the jaw out of panic.

Nook fell flat on his face, clawing at a nearby crate to try and get back up. The fact he was leaving his bloody imprints on the wood was what disturbed the teen the most.

" _Well… Guess I did kill a man today… Shit man."_

Toby dropped his blade and buried his face in his palms. " _This stuff is too dark for me, man. Girls getting tortured on TV for an ad, actual pirates being killed by goddesses, I just killed a man… What the hell did I even get myself into.."_

Through his fingers, he looked at Nook once more. He just killed that man in cold blood. Sure, he wasn't the nicest man, but what if he had a family? Friends? This all escalated way too quickly for Toby to process what was going on.

"Nngh… T-Toby?"

Responding to his name, the teen turned his head to Vert. " _Right… I shouldn't forget Nook was trying to kill us. His death was… Well, maybe… Just a little… Kind of… Justified? I'm alright. I'm alright. Don't think about it too much."_

Leaving Nook to bleed out, Toby checked whether Vert was alright.

"Sorry for not stepping in earlier. Are you okay?"

"Eheh... It's alright. At least you didn't stand there watching me get beaten."

"Heh. Yeah. Sorry about that."

The two awkwardly chuckled at the forced joke. Perhaps Toby wasn't born ready after all.

Vert reached into her hammer space and took out a bottle of medicine.

"Say, I got a question," Toby began. "Was ASIC always this brutal? I mean, that guy's super intimidating."

"Intimidating? Him? Compared to some of the other middle-class peons ASIC has, this one seems rather merciful."

"M-merciful?"

She took a quick sip of her bitter drink. "At the very least this man aims at your vital spots with a clean blade. Others love to just swing at you randomly, hoping you'll beg them to stop from the amount of pain they deliver."

The thought of this alone was enough to drain the remaining blood from the teen's face. Captain Nook, mild? That doesn't sound right. ASIC is just a bunch of everyday goofy delinquents and criminals. Or they were in the games, at least.

"I, uh... I see. I'll be sure to prepare myself for something like this next time."

With a reassuring smile, Green Heart put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you will. And I'm looking forward to work with you again when you're ready, Tobias."

Hearing her say his full name made Toby feel both warm and a little awkward. Did he really do a good job today?

"In any case, could you call the guild and ask them to send over several agents to pick up these criminals? I assume the others have already taken care of the others places, so we should return to the Basilicom as soon as we can."

"Already on it."

Toby instinctively took out his phone. _No Signal_ , though. So he quickly put it away again and used his watch to give one of his friends at the guild a call.

As he dialled the number, he noticed a dark figure rising up behind Vert with a pipe raised above its head.

Toby found himself stuck between saying 'Vert' and 'Behind', so he accidentally said...

"Bert! Vehind!"

With widened eyes, Green Heart quickly turned around and slashed the delinquent with the tip of her spear. "What did you just call me!?" Vert instantly retorted.

"Huh? I, uh... I said... B-Bert... By accident."

"B-Bert?"

The confused look turned into a look of glee and excitement. It was then that Toby knew what he had done.

"W-wait, uh... Hold on, I meant to say... Uh..."

"Could you come here for a second, Toby~"

"Uhhh."

"It's rude to leave a lady waiting~~"

"Uhhhhh…"

His mind was telling him not to listen to her, but his body was telling him 'yes'.

With his muscles feeling heavier than before, he slowly walked over to the woman floating before him.

" _N-now, if I know anything from HDN, it_ ' _s that Vert loves to suffocate smaller girls that could be classified as younger sisters in her... her..._ ' _Assets_ ' _. Good thing I_ ' _m not a small girl, so she_ ' _ll probably just hug me and-_ "

Unable to finish his thought, Vert wrapped her arms around the teen's head and pushed it right between her previously mentioned 'assets'.

"MMPH!?"

*Sniff* "N-never before... Never before... Has a man addressed me with such a cute nickname..." *Sniff*

"MPHH! Bpfert! Your bfoofbs! Can't... Bfweath!"

*Gasp* "There it was again, but muffled. For some reason, I can't stop feeling this... this feeling of... Youth!"

Desperately trying to push himself free from the goddess's iron grasp, Toby tried to push her away before he'd actually asphyxiate.

But of course, as the plot demanded (and because CPUs get stat boosts in their HDD), Toby was unable to match Green Heart's strength. So in the end, he decided to enjoy it while he could.

* * *

 **Hey there. Sorry for the delay on this chapter. In a nutshell, writing a fight scene is one of my weaker points. I'll definitely give it another shot later and try to improve on it.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Midnight Caffeine

**Chapter 6: Mid-night Caffeine**

Geoffrey leaned back in his lawn chair and took a sip from his can of Nepsi. "Isn't the view just to die for?" he asked, gazing over the city of Planeptune from the Basilicom's balcony.

"It sure is..." the woman beside him responded in a hollow tone.

Geoffrey turned to the woman. She had deep, beautiful sapphire blue eyes with dark blonde hair. Her humble (flat) chest was covered by her black tank top and her green blouse. Her blinding beauty mesmerized the man, even after several years of their marriage.

"What's the matter, Lily? You've been looking more and more down ever since we left Leanbox."

"Is it that easy to spot?"

"You always do that pouty thing with your mouth when something is bothering you. So yeah. It is."

Lilith sighed. "I just... I don't know. There's something just bugging me."

"Want to talk about it with the person you devoted your life to?"

The comment made her chuckle, but Geoffrey could easily tell it wasn't a sincere one. "Alright, alright. You've been putting up with my crap for years now, I guess you don't mind another few minutes of hearing me out."

She looked away and paused for a second. "... That Neptune... There's something about her that's bugging her. Somethings she's been saying."

"Neptune? What about my bestest CPU buddy?"

Lilith nodded solemnly. "Yeah... You re besties with a weird girl, y'know?"

"She's weird sure," Geoffrey said, shrugging as he spoke, "but I think it's just something in the head or something... I mean, it's not nice to make fun of the mentally challenged... Not that I think she's... Err... So what's bugging you?"

Still looking away, Lilith caressed her right temple out of annoyance. "She's not a mental, you hobo. Besides, she's been talking about this place... Something an adventurer like would be interested in."

Geoffrey raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I follow. What do you mean?"

"Well..." Lilith sighed again. "Sorry. I need some more time to think. Could you leave me alone for a while?"

The request didn't fall in the right tone with Geoffrey. But he wasn't going to refuse her. "Hm... Alright. If you say so."

Getting up from his chair, Geoffrey made his way back off the balcony into the living room, when suddenly he ran into Neptune along the way, which froze like a deer caught into the headlights of a car as soon as she saw him.

"Oh. Hey Neptune," he happily greeted. "What's on your mind, bud?"

Neptune stared at him motionless, almost creepily. She then suddenly grabbed him by his shoulder and shook it. "Wake up."

"What?"

"I said, wake up."

"Wake who up?"

Neptune's grasp tightened. "I said..."

* * *

"...Wake. Up!"

"Huh!? L-Lily? What?" Geoffrey shouted as suddenly found himself back in his office in Tari. He first looked up to see if Neptune was still there. To his surprise, it was Linda who had been shaking him. He then looked down at his desk. There were several papers and documents spread out. His hat also laid there on the side. Presumably, it tumbled off while he had fallen asleep.

He now remembered that he'd been working on something very important last night and that he may have fallen asleep during it. How unprofessional of him.

"Who? Lily? What are you mumbling about?" Linda asked. "She's long gone, remember?"

Geoffrey blinked a few times before lowering his hands and leaning back in his chair.

"... Yeah. She is. Forever." Geoffrey rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sighed. "What do you want, Linda? Can't you see I'm busy?" he asked, putting his hat back on.

The retort fooled no one — not even Geoffrey himself — and Linda didn't exactly have the time for jokes. "Yeah, I hate to bring it to you, but you've got a visitor. Me. And I've got you a favour to ask."

Linda took what seemed to be a poster from her hammerspace. Holding it out proudly before her to show Geoffrey the contents, he narrowed his eyes and read what was presented to him.

"'Anarchy Arena: Death Battle between Deities and Mortals? Reward: Three candidates?' I don't like the sound of this."

* * *

After Vert finally overcame her irresistible urge to hug Toby, she had decided to take him back to Planeptune's Basilicom. The two were flying over the illuminated city of Planeptune, like a shooting star in the night sky. She had seen the city of Planeptune at night many times, yet every time she flew over it, it always felt a little more special somehow.

Landing on the balcony, Green Heart set Toby down on both his feet and transformed back to her regular form.

"Whew. At last, we're back at the safe haven," Vert said, taking a few steps forward. "Let's go inside. I'm sure the others have been waiting for us to return."

When she didn't hear a second pair of footsteps, she stopped and turned around. "Toby?"

"..."

Toby didn't respond. His face was as red as a tomato and he looked rather dull out of his eyes.

"Tooo-by," Vert called out again, waving her hand before his eyes. "Hello? Gamindustri to Toby."

"..."

"Are you okay, Toby?"

"..."

Looking around awkwardly, Vert took Toby by his hand and dragged him inside.

"We're back!" Vert announced as she stepped into the living room.

"Welcome back, lady Vert," IF politely greeted from the couch.

Noire, holding a bag of ice, stepped out of the kitchen. "Hey, Vert. How'd your raid go?"

"Not too bad. We didn't run into any big problems. How about yours?"

Noire grimaced. "Not too well. We ran into a certain rat and a certain underling. We could've handled them easily if it wasn't for all the extra thugs they had with them."

"I see... What about Neptune and Compa? Are they alright? Where are Blanc and Nepgear?"

"Neptune... She..." Noire paused and took a deep breath. "I dropped my guard and she took the hit for me. Compa's with her now. She should be back to her old self by tomorrow. Or so we hope. It was a pretty nasty blow."

"Dropped your guard? How unlike you, Noire."

Noire turned her head away and walked past Vert and Toby. "Oh, don't rub it in. It's not like I wanted her to get hurt."

"I didn't mean it like that. Sorry."

Vert was about to walk over to the couch and sit down as she suddenly felt herself getting pulled back from her hand. Looking back, she realised she was still dragging Toby along. How'd she forgotten about him?

Pulling him along, she set him beside IF.

Naturally, Toby's appearance and strange behaviour raised a few question marks above IF's head. "Eh? T-Toby? What-... What happened to him, lady Vert?"

Sitting down on the opposite side of the couch, Vert gave IF a look of confusion. "Hm? I don't know what you're talking about. Toby seems to be acting as normal as ever, right Toby?"

"..."

"See? He's just fine."

IF gently shook Toby and snapped her fingers before his eyes several times. She then turned back to Vert with a suspecting look. "What did you do?"

"Eh?"

"I asked you what you did?"

As if insulted, Vert folded her arms below her chest and frowned. "Why, Iffy. Whatever could I have done for Toby to be in such a state of... Uhm... such a state of peace?"

"C-cushions..." Toby mumbled, getting the attention of both girls. "... Two... Soft... Airless... Cushion... Oxy-... Oxygen... Must... Have..."

IF look puzzled at the boy's mumbling, but after a moment she connected the dots and turned back to Vert.

"Cushions, huh?" She asked, staring at Vert's chest, before trailing her eyes upwards. "This is just a hypothesis, but did you put his head in there?"

Vert chuckled. "It's only weird if he didn't have a girlfriend."

IF facepalmed. "So you did do something... Wait... What was that last part? Girlfriend? Toby doesn't have a girlfriend."

"...What? You didn't know? I've only known about her for a few hours and I was a bit sceptical at first too, but she's a hard working girl named Siri. We even talked over the phone."

"Siri? Uh... I hate to break it to you, but that's what Toby calls his watch's personal assistant app."

Vert instantly rose from her seat. "You mean... He's single!?" she nearly shouted.

"As single as an anime otaku would be."

As if the words just shattered her world, Vert dropped herself on the couch again. "Oh... Oh... Oooooh."

Taking a similar attitude as Toby, IF found herself now stuck with two traumatised-like people.

"Well... Great. Just great."

IF got up and headed into the kitchen. When she returned, she was holding a bag of ice like Noire's. Except hers wasn't meant to silence nasty headaches.

Opening the bag, IF took a single small cube of ice between her fingers — drops of water forming around the edges from her warm touch.

Pulling back the collar of Toby's shirt, she dropped the cube of ice in his shirt.

"mmm... HM!? G-GAAAaaaaAAAH! Cold! Agh! Ow! Whaaa!"

As expected, Toby snapped out of his trance and struggled on his seat. When the cube had fully molten, Toby calmed himself. "W-... What just happened?... Where am I?"

"Seriously? You don't even know where you are?"

"Oh... IF. Did I do something weird or...?"

"Don't think too hard about it."

Toby then noticed Vert next to him. "Whatever happened to her?" he asked as he waved his hand before her eyes.

IF sat back down on the couch. "Again, don't think too hard about it. There's something I've got to ask you."

Toby raised an eyebrow. "Me? What's that?"

"Well, it's about-"

"We're back!" Nepgear shouted as she and Blanc entered the room.

IF clicked her tongue and softly nodded to herself. "Terrible timing... Hey, Gear. Lady Blanc. How'd your raid go?"

"Well..."

Nepgear hesitantly looked at Blanc, which averted her gaze with a troubled look.

"Not so well then?" Toby asked.

"N-no. Well, yeah. But... We found something. It's an invitation. I think."

From her hammerspace, Nepgear took a roll of paper and handed it to IF.

Curiously, IF unfolded the roll. "What's this?"

Peeking over her shoulder, Toby read the contents. " _Anarchy Arena: Death Battle between Deities and Mortals_. What a lame name. But what is it?"

Toby kept on reading.

* * *

 _Anarchy Arena: Death Battle between Deities and Mortals_

 **When** : _Thursday 29/8, 18:00-20:00_

 **Where** : _Mac-Man Maze Arena - Tari_

 **What** : _The spectacle of your life!_

 **Price** : _69.99 Credits p.p._

 **Hosts** : _Heward "_ Bucketshot _" Helmes & _Greese _Greeley_

 **Reward** : _Glory, a free car, and two candidates_

 _Anarchy Arena is back! After our nine years of absence, we bring you an event so exciting, even we can't truly describe the sheer amount of_ Awesome _there will be in this bloodbath._ _That's right._ Awesome _with a capital A. There will be that much_ Awesome.

 _But I can hear you asking, 'but Hew, what are you even talking about? Who will be battling who?' Well, random non-existing person. I'm glad you asked._

 _On 29/8 in Mac-Man Maze Arena in Tari, I'll be hosting the final battle between the goddesses of the four main nations (and four of their chosen allies) against the_ _challengers of ASIC in a three-round survival battle, with the final round being a battle to the dead between ASIC's feared leader, CFW Magic, and the CPUs — assuming they make it through the first two round alive._

 _For more information visit our Anarchy Arena website._

 _It's not just an arena, it's Anarchy Arena_

* * *

Toby had read the poorly-made poster twice now, and he still couldn't make heads or tails of what was actually being presented to him. An invitation? Four allies? Who even made this?

"What even is this?" he finally asked.

"I don't get it either," IF added. "What's Anarchy Arena?"

Nepgear opened her mouth as she wanted to explain it, but Blanc beat her to the punch. "Anarchy Arena. A brutal event held by some of the pawns of ASIC. They'd pin several skilled fighters against each other in a battle to the dead. Whether it was a battle royal or a team battle, they would always attract the more brutish of people as for their audience."

"Like a Roman Colosseum?" Toby asked.

"A what now?"

"You know. Ancient Rome. When Julius Caesar ruled over half of Europe and-..." Toby stopped himself as he quickly realised Blanc would know nothing about Earth's history. "I, umm, Never mind. My point is, isn't it a little too violent to be allowed? I mean, it's straight up genocide. Why would you allow this?"

"That's the point. We didn't allow this. So the four of us shut the place down nine years ago."

"Wait, hang on. How come I didn't know about this?" IF asked.

"Well it was nine years ago," Blanc repeated bluntly.

"So?"

"Do you remember how old you were nine years ago?"

IF went quiet, as if she was actually having trouble subtracting nine from her age. "I was nine."

Blanc took the poster from IF and read it again. "I suppose Neptune and Nepgear didn't want to expose a child of your age to such a violent event."

"Hmph. Fair enough."

"Wait, hold on."

The three girls looked at the boy that had raised his voice. He was counting on his fingers. "You were only thirteen years old when you started travelling with Nepgear back when you were stopping ASIC for the first time!? Why would you send a kid to do such a dangerous job?"

IF raised an eyebrow. "We had our reason. Don't think too much about it."

The response didn't satisfy Toby at all, but he knew she wasn't going to give him an honest answer. "Riiight. Anyway. About that poster. What does it mean?"

"It means we'll have to fight for our lives," Blanc explained. "If we want to beat ASIC, it is going to be then and there. No other options."

"How so? You can just refuse to go, right?"

Nepgear took the poster from Blanc and turned it to Toby and IF. "We thought the same at first. But read it again. Here."

She pointed at the reward part. 'Glory, a free car, two candidates'

Two candidates. Candidates. "They're giving us two out of three CPU candidates if you guys win?"

Nepgear nodded twice. "I don't want to even imagine what they'll do with them if we don't show up... Or... Whatever happened to one of them..." She began to sulk a little, terrifying thoughts of what may have happened to one of her friends filling her head. "Oh no... Uni... Rom... Ram..."

Blanc softly punched Nepgear's shoulder. "Snap out of it," she said in a scolding tone. "If you've got time to cry, you've got time work. We need to gather our forces and take the battle to them ourselves! Yeah! First they took all of our shares and now they want to take us on in an all-out battle. I'll be sure to make them regret the day they ever opposed me!"

Toby wasn't sure what Blanc was ranting about. "Gather our forces and- what? I, uh... Ahem. I don't mean to be that guy, but it's kind of midnight. Maybe we should sleep it over."

Blanc checked the clock hanging on the wall. It was 11:54 PM, just a little before midnight. She didn't want to let it go, but after taking a deep breath, she relaxed her shoulders and calmed herself. "You're right. Guess I jumped the gun a little... Sorry. I need some time for myself."

With that, Blanc rushed out of the room, to the guest bedroom. The sick idea of ASIC handing out Rom and Ram as a price for something like this must be weighing on her more than on anyone else.

"Blanc..." Nepgear softly spoke. "I hope she'll be alright. But, now that I think about, I'm also rather... * **Yawn** *... Rather tired. I think I'll get myself ready for bed. Good night everyone."

"Yeah. Good night, Gear."

"Night, Nepgear."

After Nepgear had left, Toby suddenly felt himself get drained of all his energy. It's been a long day. First he'd been grinding quests with Noire and then he had a rather interesting raid on ASIC's warehouse with Vert.

"Hey. IF. I think I'll also go hit the bricks. Cya tomorrow."

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Good night."

Toby slowly made his way to the elevator. He really doesn't feel like walking all the way back to his apartment, but what other choice did he have?

Pressing the button on the elevator, the doors quietly closed before him, and the elevator began descending down to the ground floor.

"Hmm... I wonder if Vert caught any wind of the entire conversation," Toby wondered out loud. "What was with her anyway?"

* * *

Opening the door of his apartment, Toby stepped inside and locked the door behind him. He made a beeline for his bed and dropped down on the mattress. "So... Tired... Siri... Hey, Siri."

* **Bleep** * " _What is it, Nifty?_ "

Toby opened his eyes for a second and was about to scold the AI for calling him Nifty again, but he was too tired to put up with any of it, so he just closed them again. "Disable tomorrow's alarm. I wanna sleep in."

" _Affirmative. Alarms disabled._ "

"Thanks, Siri," Toby mumbled, as she slowly drifted to sleep.

Or so he thought he would. Suddenly, a few soft knocks could be on his door.

"Go away!" Toby rudely retorted. "It's... Siri, what time is it?"

" _00:34_ "

"It's one in the morning. Go bug someone else."

When the knocking didn't stop, Toby grabbed a pillow and pulled it over his head. If it was that important, they'd come back tomorrow. Besides, it might be some persistent stranger trying to break into his apartment, hoping he'd be let in if he just kept on trying. Maybe he should call the police.

After a few minutes, said burglar persisted to knock on his door. In fact, whoever was knocking was also now calling his name. Unless the burglar is someone he knew, there's no way they'd know his name.

Forcing himself out of his bed, Toby slowly inched towards the door, similar to a zombie aimlessly roaming a street.

" _What kind of nuthouse comes over at this hour anyway?... I swear, it better not be Neptune again, ready to liberate my fridge of its pudding. I don't even remember giving her my address. Then again, maybe it's IF or Blanc, coming for a sleepover party._ "

A dumb smile spread across Toby's half-awake mug. " _Heh. That'd be funny. Although I somehow doubt it would go like it does in those terrible anime where the girl comes over and makes a move on the guy and-_ "

Without finishing his thought, the boy unlocked the door and opened it. Realising he still had his eyes closed, he slowly opened them. Before him stood a girl a little shorter than him with brown hair and a long blue coat. "Uh... You okay Toby?"

Seeing the girl before him, Toby shot awake. "Huh? IF? What are you doing here? We just met a few minutes ago. I was trying to sleep, you know."

IF looked him over from head to toe. "You sleep in that attire?"

Toby looked down at his clothes, then back at IF. "What's wrong with a bodywarmer?"

"Nothing. What I meant was... Well... Can I come in?

In all honesty, Toby was half tempted to refuse and go back to bed. But this is a rare opportunity. It's actually the first time any of the girls had come to visit him (disregarding Neptune raiding his fridge). "Sure. Make yourself at home. I'll go make us some coffee."

Toby turned back to the kitchen — which was in the same room as the living room — and filled the coffee machine with some high-quality coffee beans. Sadly, the beans and the machine were the only things in the entire apartment of high-quality.

"Man, you're living in a dumpster," IF noted, settling herself on the couch.

Toby didn't turn away from the machine and watched as it slowly filled two mugs with precious coffee. "What are you talking about? You're the one that got me this place."

"Eh? Oh right, I did."

"It's fine. I've gotten used to it. It used to be way worse. There wasn't even a couch at first." Toby handed one of the coffee mugs to IF, which wrapped her hands around it, rather than taking it by the ear. "Want any milk or something?"

"No thanks. This will do."

"Black coffee is best coffee," Toby mumbled half to himself before sitting down beside IF and taking a good sip of his drink. A little bitter. Just the way he likes it. "Anyway, what brings you to my humble heap of junk?"

IF snickered. "Oh, come on. You're making me feel bad for putting you in here."

" _You should_." Toby thought. Of course, he wasn't going to say it. He'd feel terrible if he did. "Ahah. Yeah, no. I'm happy you got me a place to live. It's like my own little zen garden."

" _My own little zen garden of junk_ ," He said mentally. Toby didn't know why IF's here, but it does feel nice having her come over, even if it was the worst time of the day to do so.

"Anyway, there's something serious I wanted to talk about."

So much for the 'nice to have her come over.

"What is it?"

IF set her mug down and gave Toby a serious look. "Alright. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm going to level with you…"

The girl paused for a second, worrying Toby even more.

"... About that Anarchy Arena. I don't think you should be joining us," IF said, a question mark inflected in her voice.

Shocked, Toby almost dropped his mug, but barely caught it. "Wait what? Why? I'm quite-... quite capable of handling myself. And beside the CPUs themselves, you need four more members to enter, right? So what's stopping you from going with the dream team? You know, me, you, Compa, and Nepgear? I mean, like, our lily rank is already pretty high and stuff, so our teamwork is pretty good, so… Well, you know.

"I know, I know. But… Look." IF bit her lip, seemingly having trouble telling Toby he's out for the count without hurting him too much. "Vert told me about today. How you froze up in fear when fighting that one goon of ASIC. I'm ninety-nine percent certain that the event will have more of those kind of guys."

Toby wanted to tell her she was wrong, but he quickly found himself to be speechless. Vert did mention that Captain Nook seemed rather mild compared to the other members of ASIC. It would only make sense for there to be more men like that.

"Listen to me, Toby." IF put a hand on his shoulder and leaned in a little closer. "I'm keeping you out of this for your own safety. I'm sure I'll find someone to replace you, so don't worry about that either."

"But…"

"I know it's hard to hear, but just trust me on this. We'll be fine without you for now. Just promise me you'll stay alive and help us in any other way, alright?"

Toby didn't understand. He felt betrayed, angry, sad, and a little confused. Wasn't he supposed to be their 'hero', their saviour in the time of need? If not, then why was he brought here in the first place? Why did they make him go through so much if it was all for nothing?

Despite his feelings, he managed to swallow his pride. "I… I promise…" Toby reluctantly mumbled. maybe it was for the best he kept his distance from the girls. So far nothing good had come from it anyway. And on top of that, they've been treating him like trash anyway. Yeah. He should just live his normal life in Gamindustri and let the 'professionals' take care of all the oncoming dangers.

"What was that?" IF teasingly asked.

"I said I promise," Toby said, slightly raising his voice.

"Still can't hear you. Again."

"Ugh." the teen put his right hand on his heart and raised his other one. "I, Tobias Karston, vow to never interject with any of the holy deeds of the all-mighty Console Patron Units and their subjects. There. Satisfied?"

"You overdid it. But I'll take it."

Toby sighed and lazily sunk down on the couch. "So what now? You want me to do guild stuff while you guys do your thing?" he asked, turning his coffee mug upside down, hoping there'd be a drop left of the brown gold.

"You can do whatever you want. Just make sure you're ready for when we'll need you again."

"mmm…"

Averting his gaze, Toby gave IF the silent treatment. Sensing that she had probably overstayed her welcome, IF got up and headed for the door. "I, uh… I'll just go now. Thanks for the coffee. Good night, Toby."

"Yeah yeah, good night."

IF opened the door and was about to step outside, but she stopped right on the doorstep. "I know it might be rough to hear this, and you might not be the hero we expected you to be, but to me, you're just as heroic as Nep and the others."

When IF left, Toby slouched down on the couch even more, trying to process what actually happened. She just ditched me. She actually went ahead and decided to throw me out of the party… Grrrr… Ech. Fine. Whatever. I didn't want to be some self-insert harem protagonist anyway. I'm fine as I am. With or without them, I'll be fine.

Gritting his teeth, Toby grumbled a bit while rapidly tapping his watch. "Hey. Siri. Wakey wakey. Wipe my agenda."

A little pop-up appeared on the screen " _Are you sure you want to clear your agen-_ "

"Yes. Yes. Yes. All the yes. Every yes. Yes everyday."

" _Confirmed. Clearing agenda._ "

"Also, set a new reminder. 'Create an agenda of my own that doesn't include any feminine representations of real-life consoles or anyone related to them'.

" _Affirmative. Reminder set._ "

"Hmph… Yeah. I don't need them to be happy. I'm fine as I am. Just watch me."

Toby was about to get up and go back to bed when he noticed IF's mug. She hadn't even taken a single sip out of it.

Grabbing the mug by its ear, Toby took a small sip. Stone cold. Just like IF.

"... I guess one more coffee before bed won't kill me."

* * *

 **Anyone else wonder how anyone is supposed to 'check for more info on the website' when they didn't even add the web address on the poster?**

 **Hey everyone. Sorry for the mass delay on this one. For those who don't care for lame excuses, All I have to say is that I'll try to regain my biweekly upload schedule. So feel free to leave now.**

 **For those of you that are still here... Well... Aside from being extremely busy, I also had a _small_ writer's block on what exactly I wanted to get out of the mid-night coffee scene. But I've had plenty of time to think it over and I think this will be an interesting turning point for our orange 'self-insert'. I honestly can't wait to show you what I have in store for Toby in the next few chapters... Spoiler, it won't be shown in the next chapter. In fact, for those of you that kept on reading this, here's a small reward. I usually name chapters at the end, but next chapter we'll finally get to see a little mischief out of none other than Geoffrey Lucian Lance himself. I mean, why do you think that at the start of the chapter he read 'three' candidates, but on the final poster it said there were only two?**

 **Anyway, that's all I'm going to say. Thanks for being so patient with me. Until next time.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Uni-ntentionally

**Quick notice before you read this chapter: There's a special announcement at the end of this chapter. It's pretty important, so if you could do me a big favour, be sure to check it out once you are done with this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: A Pleasant Surprise**

A few days have passed since IF kicked Toby out of the party. She had already informed the others that the teen would be out for the count for quite some time, perhaps even permanently. None of the others had any objections against IF's decision, except for Nepgear and Compa. While they didn't spend as much time with him as he did with the others, they still enjoyed his presence. But after she explained that it was for his own safety, both of them understood, even though it did leave a bitter taste in their mouth.

But now wasn't the time for regret. She and the others had to prepare for the upcoming battle at the Mac-Maze Arena. IF had already arranged someone to replace Toby, so the only thing left to do for the CPUs was to train and get back into shape after being held captive for so long

"No way! I shall not be bested. Take this," Vert shouted, frantically, but tactfully, mashing the buttons of her controller.

"Like hell you will, boobs for brains," Blanc insulted, getting a little too carried away by the game. "I'll show you my ultimate technique. Take this!"

"Ha! You'll never win with such a sloppy setup. This will end it," Noire triumphantly declared.

And as always, the tension was as non-existent as Neptune's love for eggplants. Speaking of which, strange enough, said goddess has still not recovered from the injuries she got when she shielded Noire a few days ago. Compa, which had hypothesised that her injuries would've been healed by the next day, simply couldn't wrap her head around the problem. For now, everyone could only hope she'd recover by the time she and the others would have to fight at the Anarchy Arena event.

IF, being a spectator to the scene, was still amazed at how laid back everyone could be, even though they had to prepare for the upcoming Anarchy Arena fight.

But in one aspect, she was no better, as she herself had been texting away on her phone for the past few hours now or so.

Truly, this was a staple of your average day in Planeptune.

IF stared at her phone's display intently. She had been texting Toby for some time now. But for some reason, the teen hadn't bothered to respond to any of her texts.

She read over them once more.

" _10:35 - Me: Hey how you doing?"_

" _11:32 - Me:You okay?"_

" _14:02 - Me: ?"_

While it looked like she was being rather desperate, like you average teenage girl texting her crush, she was more worried about how he was doing after she had kicked him out.. The fact he hadn't responded to a single one of her texts could mean one of two things. Either he was simply too busy to answer, or he took it harder than he should've and is now ignoring her.

IF was about to put her phone back in her belt when she suddenly felt it vibrate. Quickly taking it back out, she was quite disappointed when she saw she hadn't received a text from Toby, but instead from her agent in Tari: Good Luck Lana.

" _15:06 - G.L.L: Red sports car - Lowee Highway coörds 69X 96Y, CPU candidate Uni + Geoffrey. - Armed: No? - Estimated time: 30 minutes."_

While the text contained barely any details, it was enough for IF to know she had to act fast.

"No way! I can't believe this!" Vert shouted, tossing her controller across the room out of frustration.

"This is bullshit! I had that one in the bag!" Blanc bellowed, snapping her controller in half.

"Tsk. It's not like I wanted to win or anything. I was just giving you two a chance," Noire scoffed, turning her head from the TV.

Apparently the trio had lost against the AI in their match.

While the event was comedy gold, IF had to interrupt it as this was an emergency. "Ahem. Everyone. This is important."

The three girls turned to IF. "What's the matter Iffy? Would you like to play along with us?" Vert asked, completely forgetting about her loss to the computer.

"Far from. I just got a message from Lana. Apparently Geoff's transporting Uni in a red sports car and-."

Hearing her sister's name, Noire shot up. "Uni!? What? Where? IF, where is she. Where. Is. She," she insisted, taking IF by her shoulders, getting a little too close for comfort.

"She, uh, she's in Lowee. Specifically on the highway heading south but-."

Letting go of IF's coat, Noire transformed and slammed open the door to the balcony. "Then there's no time to lose. If I find even a single scratch on my sister, I'll be sure to drop that swine from Planeptune tower."

Noire bent her knees and shot off like a fighter jet taking to the air, the force of her launch creating a small shockwave strong enough to break several windows around her.

"... We should probably follow her," Vert suggested.

"I agree," Blanc said with a nod. "She's in over her head. She'll get herself killed before she even gets there."

The two also transformed and flew out of the room with far less force, leaving IF scratching the back of her head. "... Guess I'll have to order a new set of windows on behalf of the Basilicom."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Lowee, a certain hatted scientist, driving a roofless red sports car, was speeding over the straight road under the warm rays of sunshine — a rare weather condition for Lowee, indeed. Beside him on the passenger seat was the raven-haired CPU candidate of Lastation: Uni.

A lot had happened in between the time she and the twins had attempted to liberate Lastation. In short, she was captured, tortured for some ASIC commercial (even if she still doesn't understand why ASIC had returned), and finally, she was 'freed' by the person she despised the most. Naturally, she asked why he'd freed her from ASIC, at which he responded with 'I got a surprise for you.' After that, she was handcuffed and put in the car.

A surprise. Knowing Geoffrey, it either means her final hour was at hand or she was actually getting a nice surprise. And the chances of the latter actually being true would make no sense whatsoever.

Up until now, Uni had been keeping quiet, avoiding any form of contact with the man. For some reason, he tried to break the ice on several occasions, asking how she had been doing and whether or not she actually has a crush on Nepgear. Of course, Uni wouldn't even think of giving him the satisfaction of getting a response out of her. In the end, he gave up and turned on the radio.

They'd been driving for about an hour now, and he hadn't tried to make any further contact with her.

Out of boredom, Uni sneakily caught a glimpse of the man. He was wearing his iconic top hat, as per usual, but he was now also wearing a pair of black sunglasses. It didn't match his hat in any way.

"~Young Heaaarts, be free tonight," he sang along with the music. "~Tiiime is on, your side."

"..."

He seems awfully calm for transporting a prisoner beside him. A hefty mistake, considering he hadn't even tightened her cuffs. If she tried hard enough, she could probably slip her hands through them.

"~Don't let 'em put you down, don't let 'em push you 'round~"

"..."

Now that she thought about it, why didn't he just tie her up? Or why didn't he toss her in the trunk of the car? Wouldn't that be a lot smarter?

Curiosity getting the better of her, Uni finally turned her head to him and spoke up. "Hey."

"~Don't let 'em ever cha-... Huh? Did you say something?"

"Yeah. I've got a few questions."

Geoffrey gave Uni a good look before turning his attention back to the road. "Really? Alright. What's up?" he asked, sounding a little too chirpy.

"I need to know why you're being so careless with your prisoner… Not like I care or anything."

Geoffrey softly shook his head out of confusion. "Prisoner? I don't have any prisoners here. I'm just taking my old friend Uni out for a surprise. A pleasant and fun surprise we both can enjoy."

Annoyed by the blatant lie, Uni gritted her teeth. "What are you even saying? I'm being held against my will."

"... So?"

"That's the very definition of being held prison."

"Ugh. Uni. You're my ' _prisoner_ '," Geoffrey responded, loosely using the term prisoner.

pausing between his sentences, he obviously intended for her to ask what he meant. Uni was smarter than this and simply kept quiet, once again not giving him the satisfaction.

After a while, Geoffrey visibly sighed. "Fine. I'll explain. See, it's kinda hard to explain, but basically, ASIC owed me a favor. I'd sponsor them for Anarchy Arena and they'd give me a CPU candidate in return. The only condition was that I must keep her prison until that stupid Anarchy Arena thing is over."

"..."

An awkward silence befell the two again with the radio being the only source of noise keeping it from getting too awkward.

"... Sooo," Geoffrey continued, "I promised I would keep you under 'tight' security."

"But you're not."

Geoffrey removed his sunglasses and turned to Uni with a big smile. "Pff. Like hell they'll know."

Uni still didn't buy it. She hasn't forgotten how deceitful this monster can be. "If you really mean that, then why don't you uncuff me?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Man, you are hard to convince."

" _You find that strange after all you have done?_ " Uni thought, mentally facepalming.

After unnecessarily checking his mirrors, being the only vehicle on the road, the man pulled over. "C'mere with those cuffs," he mumbled, grabbing Uni's hands and freeing them. "There. All freed up."

Uni rubbed her wrist, feeling real freedom overwhelm her. "Alright… Thanks… Bye."

Opening the car's door, Uni stepped out and transformed.

"H-hey! Where do you think you're going."

"Uh, I dunno, Planeptune. Maybe."

Shaking his head, this clearly wasn't the result he expected. "Oh c'mon. Uni. Don't do this. I mean, think of all the things we went through. Like, remember that one time you called Lilith 'mom' by accident and I stopped her from teasing you?"

"D-... Don't remind me!" She shouted, embarrassed at the memory. "That was a long time ago and I never did it again. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving."

Deploying her processor unit's wings, Uni hovered up a few feet, trying to figure out which way was west, to Planeptune.

"W-wait, I, uh... " Geoffrey looked around, desperately trying to come up with something. "H-hey! Look! There's NepDonalds ahead. If you get back in the car, I'll treat you to a Neppy Meal. Eh? _Eh_?"

"... I'm more of a Vertucky Fried Horsebird fan."

"Agh. I should've known… Err… Alright, look," Geoffrey also got out of the car and took a few steps towards Uni, Having a slightly more threatening posture. "If you don't get back in the car, I'll need to go back and take either Rom or Ram from ASIC. And if I do, not only will I get in a lot of trouble, but I'll also be sure to… 'keep them under control'."

Uni's eyes widened at the treat. "You wouldn't dare do such a thing to kids."

"Oh for the love of-... They've been nine for the last nine years now. I'm pretty sure neither of them is underaged at this point… Wait, that came out wrong."

Uni turned her back to the man. While she wanted to fly away as soon as she could, she didn't want to put Rom and Ram at risk, even if up until now he hasn't shown any sign of having ill intentions. Plus, she was rather curious about the 'surprise' he constantly kept talking about.

After a brief silence, Uni deactivated her HDD. "Fine. You win. But I get to choose what we listen to on the way."

Geoffrey bumped his fist into the air. "Suh-weet!"

While she should probably get back to Planeptune and regroup with the others, she can't let this opportunity slip either. This might be her only chance to figure out what he's been planning for the past year or so.

When the two got in the car, Uni still a little uncertain, Geoffrey didn't instantly resume driving. "... Hey, uh… Mind if we do take a detour and get ourselves a Neppy Meal? I'm kinda peckish."

With her nose raised, the candidate gave him a look of disgust. "You really are unbelievable aren't you?"

* * *

Flying at top speed over the blue ocean, the three CPUs travelled in silence. Mostly because of Noire's attitude. Any time Vert or Blanc tried to even say anything to get a looser mood going, she'd instantly shun it and tell them to focus.

But after about ten minutes of flying, even Noire felt like things had gotten extremely awkward.

Lucky for her, Vert had decided to try once more and get a conversation going. "So… Noire. How do you feel?"

"Does it matter?" She replied without making eye contact. "We're on a mission, so I can't afford to let feelings and what to influence my actions."

"Cut the whole business crap," Blanc bluntly said, " the both of us can tell you're the least focused out of the three of us."

"It's not untrue, Noire."

"Tsk. I'm just worried about Uni, alright? That's all."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Vert assured in a calming tone. "Uni's a strong girl. She won't allow someone as weak as Geoffrey to even lay a finger on her."

"I know… But I can't imagine what kind of horrid things she's going through right now.

"Probably the same we went through," Blanc mentioned out loud. "Which was basically sit in a room and do nothing but eat, sleep and visit the bathroom all day."

"I just hope you're right."

* * *

"-And then I said 'next you'll start saying fancy things like 'je ne sais quo' or 'fence-sitting'. And then she responded with… eheh," Geoffrey, holding a Coca Nowa in one hand, laughed as he tried to tell his 'funny' story. "She responded with 'I don't know what that means and I don't care. Pff-bwahaha."

While he was completely losing it, Uni just blinked a few times and took a bite of her Blanc manju, completely missing the punchline. "Wait… I don't get it. What's so funny?"

Catching his breath, he attempted to explain. "Eheh… Oh… heh… Alright. Anyway, the joke is that je ne sais quo means unexplainable or 'I don't know' and fence-sitting means staying neutral… Or in her case, not caring."

"Uh-huh… Right, I see. If I were to go easy on you, I'd give the story a four out of ten."

"Tsk. You can be so harsh."

"Well it doesn't really answer the question I asked."

"... What was the question again."

Uni sighed and took a deep breath. How can someone so smart also be so stupid? "I asked why you decided to side with Rei at the very last second?"

"... Hm. I see."

"..."

"..."

"Well?"

Written all over his face, Geoffrey was a little hesitant to answer her question. "I've had my reasons…" He quietly said with little to no confidence.

"Which were? As far as I can tell, you haven't exactly gotten anything good out of this deal yet."

"Oh come on, I got this car out of it and-, h-hey! What are you doing!? I'm driving!"

Grabbing the man's sleeve, she rolled it up and revealed several scars running along his arm. "Benefits, huh? I didn't know you were a masochist."

Geoffrey shook Uni's hand off. "Tsk… Fine. All you need to know is that my plan is far from over and that stabbing Neptune in the back was just the beginning rather than the end.

"Care to explain?"

Geoffrey opened his mouth, but stopped as he noticed something in the distance."Hm? What a timing. We're here."

"Huh?"

Looking ahead, Uni saw they were at the foot of a mountain, next to an excavation site. There were several robots working tirelessly, digging through the frozen ground. In the middle of the site was an enormous, stone cube, the size of a bus. Along the sides of it were strange markings and glyphs engraved Uni didn't recognize "What is this place?"

"An excavation site… Duh."

"No, I… Gah. I meant, why is there an excavation site here?"

"... Did you know asking questions to strike a conversation is very antisocial? Just as much of a loner as your sister you are."

"Why you-…Hmph. I didn't care anyway."

Getting out of the car, Geoffrey gestured Uni to follow him. "I'm sure you don't," he said, Taking a remote from under his hat, the man pressed a button, deactivating all robots.

The two approached the centre of the site, towards the cube. "Alright. Here's your surprise."

Uni took a few steps back to get a better look. Upon closer inspection, the cube appeared to have a rugged pattern running along its grey sides, with a flat, much softer spot in the middle. There were also strange symbols on inscribed around the flat part, which Uni felt like she had seen before somewhere. It looked very ornamental, so to say. Almost as if someone of wealth designed it to be decorative. "... A cube?"

"A cube! And a soft, smooth one too."

Geoffrey put his hand on the cold surface of the cube. "Man this thing is super soft too, now that I really get to feel it…"

"Soft? You're literally caressing the roughest part. There's a huge soft spot in the middle."

As if oblivious to where it might be, Geoffrey looked the cube all over. "Really? Wait, where exactly?"

"... You can't be serious."

"Err… I kinda am. What part are you exactly referring to?"

Facepalming once more, Uni walked up to the block and put her hand on the soft, middle area. "I was talking about this spot. How could you even miss it?"

"..." For some reason, Geoffrey intently stared at the girl, as if he was expecting something to happen. "Hm. Strange. Was my translation off? Man, the ancient language of the Histoire sure is weird."

"Ancient language of the Histoire?" Uni looked back at the cube; more specifically the strange symbols on it. She now remembered where she had seen them before. They're the same as the ones in Histoire's tome. "Wait… You can read that stuff?"

"Pff. No. I used a dictionary," Geoffrey said, taking a black tome with purple pages, as big as Histoire's from under his hat and waving it before Uni. He then opened it on a seemingly random page. "Keep your hand on there. Let me just check something… Err… C becomes L when a Nep-mark is on a T in the sentence before it… Uhh… Read the first three letters backwards when the fourth one is an E but the sentence is not in the present tense… "

Realising that keeping her hand on the cube was probably a terrible idea, she quickly pulled it back and stepped away from the giant artefact. "Okay, this is just stupidly bad. You're trying to trick me and-"

"Wait!" Geoffrey suddenly shouted. "I got it! I misread 'blood' for 'hand'. A rookie mistake. I should've known that the A becomes a double O when the fourth letter in it is a D."

"... What?"

With a beaming smile, Geoffrey slammed the tome shut and put it back under his hat. "Nothing. Hey Uni. Hey, what's that over there?"

Pointing upwards, Uni didn't fall for it and kept eye contact with the man before her. He's obviously trying to distract her. The fact he needed a CPU's blood would also probably mean she should get ready for a fight, even if she was unarmed

"..."

"..."

"Well…"

Suddenly, the man slammed his hand against the side of her head and held it tightly. Uni reacted by grabbing on to his wrist and forcing him back. Feeling another hand on the opposite side, she instinctively clawed at the man's face. While he was a little taller than her, she still is a CPU candidate with superior strength, even with minimal shares.

When she managed to push his hand away, she felt something hard smashing into her gut, forcing the air out of her lungs.

Desperately gasping for air, Geoffrey took his chance grabbed her by her head again. Before she could try and free herself, the man pushed her off her feet sidewards. The last thing Uni felt before falling unconscious was feeling something hard smashing against her head.

Smashing Uni's head against the large cube twice, Geoffrey pulled her back only to toss Uni's head at the cube again.

* * *

Uni's unconscious body fell limply to the ground, staining the snow around her with her warm blood.

The man took a few deep breaths, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. "She's gonna feel that one in the morning," he casually said, grabbing Uni by her leg and dragging her to the side. As he dragged her, he left a crimson trail behind in the snow.

In hindsight, he probably should've dragged her by her head to prevent the wound from getting any worse.

But he didn't really care enough to regret it.

Setting Uni aside, Geoffrey turned back to the cube, scratching his temple. With the cube stained, he could proceed with the next phase.

"Now then… What's the next step again? Oh right. Uhh… God, I hate this part. Ahem."

Clearing his throat, the man once again grabbed the black tome from under his hat and opened it. "Err… _Ah-Abba-Abababa. Abababababababa! Ababababa-babab Ababa *_ _ **Gasp**_ _*, ababa- ABAbaba- AH-abababa_ * **Huff** *, _Ababababa, AAAB-BA,_ * **Ugh** * _, Abababa baba ababa,_ * **Cough** *, Aba-... A-... Aba!"

Having finished the full incantation, Geoffrey dropped to his knees to catch his breath. "Huff… Puff… Never listening to… Ugh… Any Abba song again. I think I'm gonna barf… Oh god… Someone kill me. Ugh."

Covering his mouth and Looking back up, he noticed the symbols around the cube started to glow with a heavenly white light. Enough so to make Geoffrey cover his eyes with his hand.

When the light finally died down, Geoffrey slightly lowered his hand. The cube was completely gone and in its place was a small necklace floating in place.

Stepping closer, Geoffrey picked up the necklace by its thin, black string. As for the jewel itself, it was a golden amulet with a glass orb embed in the middle. Inside the orb was a red, glowing liquid. On the edge of the amulet were more symbols of the ancient language of the Histoire engraved.

"So I guess I didn't mistranslate this bit, huh," he mumbled, as he inspected the artefact. "It's a little smaller than I anticipated. But I guess it should still work."

Turning around, he slowly made his way back to his car, still looking at the jewel. He then noticed three familiar dots in the distance flying towards him.

"... Hum. They're here faster than I thought they would be. I bet Noire pushed them to go faster. Hey Uni, I-..."

Geoffrey turned around to face Uni, except said girl was still unconscious, bleeding from her head.

"Oh…"

Geoffrey turned to look at the three CPUs heading towards him, then back to Uni. Then he turned to his car... Then back at the three CPUs... Then back to Uni... Then-...

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

Nearly tripping on the slippery path, Geoffrey held on tightly to his hat as he ran back to his car. Jumping into the driver's seat, he turned his keys and pushed the gas paddle all the way down, driving off as fast as he possibly could.

* * *

Flying over the snowy landscape, Noire and the others followed the road in the hope of finding the red vehicle in question.

"Keep your eyes peeled," Blanc said, trying to remind everyone. "This is the road IF mentioned."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Noire replied. "You can clearly see I'm looking down at the road."

"I wasn't talking to you."

Noire looked back, only to find Vert dreamily gazing into the distance.

"Hm? Hey. Vert! Wake up!"

"Eh? Oh. Sorry everyone. I was just… thinking about something."

"What can be more important than finding my little sister that you have to go daydreaming in the middle of your flight. I didn't ask for you to come along, so if you're not going to take this seriously, you might as well head back."

"My, I know you're tensed up because this is about Uni, but no need to be so hostile Noire."

"But she does have a point," Blanc added. "What were you thinking about?"

"Oh. Well, you know that agent IF keeps getting intel from? Good Luck Lana?"

"Yeah, we know. She's the one that keeps saving our asses from all of Tari's surprises… I'll be sure to give her a promotion on behalf of the Guild of Lowee once this is all over."

"I wouldn't be so sure about doing that."

Blanc raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I find it rather odd that up until now we've never heard of anyone with that name before. If she is such a good spy, then why have we never heard of any of her feats before?"

"Any of her other feats?" Noire took a moment to think of any feats. When she couldn't think of any, she tried to come up with an excuse on why she couldn't think of any. "Well, she is from Planeptune, right? So all things considered, if anyone should know about her, it should be Neptune."

"Actually, I think she's from Leanbox," Blanc corrected. "So if anyone should know…"

"It would be me." Vert stroked her chin with her thumb and index finger. "But I've never heard of her before. And I know every member of the Guild of Leanbox by name. Including the spies."

"Hey… Hold that thought. What's that down there?" Blanc asked, pointing down at a large open field. There were several robots and digging tools scattered around the field. There were also massive holes, clearly dug by the robots. It appeared to be some sort of excavation site.

But what really caught Noire's attention was a girl dressed in black laying face-down in the snow.

"Wait… That's…!?" Without any hesitation, Noire dive-bombed down, straight towards the girl. When she came close, she halted herself and landed on both feet beside her.

Her eyes went wide with shock as she looked at the wounded girl before her. The girl was dressed in black, matching her twin-tailed raven hair. There was one detail that disturbed Noire the most though: the rather large wound, which she was bleeding from uncontrollably.

The girl before her was her own sister.

Noire knelt down, her hands frozen before her as she wanted to lift Uni's head. She wanted to say something. Anything. Just anything to assure her sister it was going to be okay. But her words got stuck in her throat as if someone had put a knot in her tongue. And even if she could say something, her words would fall upon a deaf ear.

Eventually, Noire's hands shot towards Uni's wrist. She put her thumb on it, hoping there would be a pulse.

Behind her, she could hear Blanc and Vert converse.

"No… Uni…" Vert mumbled in disbelief.

"No way. He actually did it. But… Maybe if we hurry we can take her to the hospital in Lowee?"

Vert slowly shook her head. "Lowee is overrun with soldiers of Tari. We'll never get there alive."

"Tch. Damn it! We gotta do something right? She'll bleed out at this rate!"

At her wit's end, Noire swallowed the bile that had been forming at the back of her throat. "Can you two just SHUT THE HELL UP!?"

silencing the two behind her, Noire pushed her thumb against her sister's wrist again.

"No… No! Uni! Please! This… This has to be some kind of sick joke, right? C-come on, sleepy. Wake up. We've-... We've got work to do. Uni? Uni!?"

Noire grabbed her sister's shoulder and pushed her on her back. Uni blankly stared out of her eyes. They were empty, looking right through her sister.

Finally having built the courage to take her sister by the back of her neck, Noire embraced Uni in a hug, tears filling her eyes.

Blanc and Vert looked at each other, not knowing what to say in this situation. Eventually, Vert spoke up. "Noire. Is-... Is she-...?"

Noire softly nodded in silent, tightening the girl in her arms.

What started as a pleasant day of video gaming turned into a nightmare of horrors. This truly was the darkest day in the history of Noire's career.

* * *

Having successfully 'tricked' Uni, Geoffrey felt the need to celebrate. And what better way to treat himself than by getting a Neppy meal at Nepdonalds.

Parking his car in the parking lot after going through the drive-thru, he unpacked his kid's menu while humming a catchy theme.

" _Ha. This is great!"_ he thought, rummaging through the greasy meal, looking for his Neppy meal toy. " _With this necklace, my plan will finally be complete. And it's only taken me an entire year to finally get it. an actual soul-container."_

After finding the toy, he took it from the box and looked at it for a second. It was a plastic, chibi doll the size of a potato. The doll had lilac hair with a set of D-pads for hairpins. Sure enough, it was the rare Neptune toy. The one only one in a thousand customers would get.

"Well… Wadda ya know. I got Neptune. My 'best buddy' and so on, huh?"

Geoffrey's grip around the toy tightened. "For years you've managed to safely 'protect' your nation, and all of Gamindustri, from those who dared to oppose you. And they say it was because of your great leadership. Great leadership my ass... Your nation is built on white lies and false accusations..."

Geoffrey tightened his grip even more, slightly bending the toy out of shape. "I suppose no one can rule forever, huh? And I suppose it is finally my turn to show you what happens to those who take something from me. Maybe you shouldn't have called me a mentally unstable mad man. Maybe you should've told everyone the truth about her death. Maybe you shouldn't have lied to everyone about how she died in the Gamindustri Graveyard. Maybe you should've told them about what happened in the depths of the Retro Ruins of Planeptune!"

Tightening his grip even more, the doll's head began to crack. "I'll choke the life out of you like Lilith choked in her final moments!"

Finally crushing the entire doll's torse, the head of the chibi Neptune doll popped off and landed somewhere out of the car.

Taking a few deep breaths and calming himself, Geoffrey tossed the remains of the doll away and turned the keys of his car. He kind of lost his appetite. Instead, he wanted to get back to Tari so he could finish what he had started.

"I'm looking forward to doing that to the real one."

 _ **True Chapter 7: Uni-ntentinationally :)**_

* * *

 **A** _ **pleasantly**_ **surprising ending. Totally worth waiting that extra week, right?**

 **Hey everyone. Thanks for making it all the way through. And if you've made it this far, thanks for taking your time to read the announcement.**

 **To keep it short, as of recently, due to a minor indifference, my beta reader has officially decided to (perhaps permanently) quit. So while I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I feel like it could've been a little more refined. This is also why it took a little longer to finish this than I wanted it to. On a side note, Uni's final scene was supposed to be a little more violent, but I decided to tone it down a little.**

 **Of course, I wouldn't be announcing this if I wasn't going to ask any of you for help. If you are interested in beta reading the story (getting the perk of reading any upcoming chapter a few days in advance), feel free to contact me with either a review on the story or a PM.**

 **You could argue that I should just go find one on my own, but I think it'd be better to have someone that has read the story become one, considering we're already seven chapters in.**

 **There are a few requirements though. For example:**

 **-You need to have a Fanfiction account (duh).**

 **-I'm looking for someone that knows English to a certain degree. Nothing too complex. Just basic knowledge of the language and perhaps capable of improving an (awkward) sentence will be enough.**

 **-I'm also looking for someone that isn't afraid to say 'this is bad, improve it'. In both a grammatical aspect as well as in a storytelling aspect.**

 **I also want to add that I'll be sure to respond to any and all applications. So don't be afraid to just give it a shot. The likelihood of me turning you down is fairly low.**

 **And that's about it. Thanks for making it this far… Last time I spoiled a little about this chapter at the end of the author's notes. So… Here's another spoiler for the next chapter. Turns out Tobias isn't as hopeless as we first thought. Next chapter will feature the first appearance of Lithyum: the Phantasmal Angel and Toby's soon to be lover.**

 **Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Phantasmal Angel

**Quick notice before you read this chapter:**

 **For those of you who skipped the previous announcement, there's a poll on my profile. Also free cans of Nepsi for those who cast their vote. I've already handed out three cans (which is already three more than I first anticipated).**

 **I also promised I would be responding to reviews in the story from now on… So here goes:**

-To Broach Or To Put Up: I think I did misunderstand you at first. Glad you cleared that up. But yes, my intent was indeed to make it quick, unexpected and simple. I can already say though that there won't be any more sudden dark moments without any build up like this anymore.

 **On a side note, there's actually something I just recently noticed when going back and fact-checking somethings in the first chapter. Up until now, I've been describing Toby with an orange bodywarmer and a red shirt… Turns out in the original concept it was the other way around.**

 **I guess I should fix it real quick.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Phantasmal Angel**

Toby opened his closet, ready to get dressed for today. "Just as heroic as Nep and the others she says," Toby mumbled to himself in a hateful tone, taking a red- and an orange body warmer out of his closet. "Yeah. Right. As if Neptune's heroic. She's just… Lazy. And nothing like the Neptune. At least the Nep in the games does somewhat work… Like a little."

Carefully considering which body warmer he should wear today, he looked both from top to bottom before putting the red one back in the closet. Can't be the Orange Outplay if you don't wear orange.

A few days have passed since IF kicked Toby out of the party. Ever since, Toby has cut off all contact with any of the CPUs, candidates and their companions. He wasn't in the mood to face any of them any time soon. Even to this day, he complains to himself how they treated him like a tool.

leaving his apartment, Toby walked down the ruined street, his hands in his pockets. He was on his way to the Guild to see if there were any new quests for him to do. Considering he no longer works at N.E.P. — being in a whole different dimension and what not — Toby had to find another source of income. He quickly figured the guild pays its agents very generously depending on how difficult the quests are they complete and as it turns out, Toby seems to be fairly skilled at slaying monsters.

" _Stupid Neptune,"_ he thought, " _always making me fetch her pudding. Tsk. Not to mention Noire looking down on me. Not to mention Blanc using me as her personal anger management assistant. And then there's Vert. Ugh! Vert, of all people. Just… Agh!"_

Toby kicked a can of Nepsi out of his way and sighed. For some reason, he was feeling a lot more frustration welling up inside of him. " _Ugh… I just… Need something to distract me. Maybe killing some more Horsebirds will do."_

Reaching the Guild, the automatic doors slid open before him. The familiar scenery made him feel a little more at ease. The digital billboards, the holographic quest screen, the large purple round carpet in the middle of the room with the emblem of Planeptune stitched to it, everything about it felt warm and welcoming. The only thing he didn't like was the giant hologram of Purple Heart by the left wall.

Toby approached the quest booth, trying his best to look away from the Purple Heart hologram, and logged in. " _Let's see… 'Orange_Outplay'... Password… NiftySiri."_

Scrolling through the list of quests, he heard a familiar voice call out to him from behind. "Oi! Tobias!"

Toby turned his head. It was Vektor, the detective.

"Oh. Hey Vektor," Toby kindly greeted with a smile. "How you doing? Did you, Espia and Charm get that fetch quest done already with those Mean Beans?"

Vektor, a tall, muscled man with a detective-esq raincoat is one of Toby's friends at the guild. The two met on Toby's first day of questing and quickly formed a sort of old-time friends bond.

"Nah. We still workin' on it. Charm just wouldn't stop complainin' about his feet were hurtin'. Seriously. The guy can fly. Why would his feet hurt?"

The teen shrugged. "Sounds like something Charm would say to get out of work. You and Espia really should stop falling for it."

Vektor let out a loud laugh. "Charm might be a little quirky and lazy, but he never falls short when we need him."

"Yeah, fair enough," Toby said, thinking the description might fit Neptune as well. "Anyway, I'm a bit behind schedule. I really have to get going."

Toby was about to walk past Vektor, but the man put his hand on his shoulder, preventing him from leaving. "Slow down, kiddo. Ya didn't think I'm just here to waste time listenin' to mah detective stories, right?"

The teen raised an eyebrow. "Would you be surprised if I thought you would?"

"Not even in the slightest."

The two of them let out a small laugh. "Alright, fair enough," Toby admitted. "What was it you were going to say?"

Vektor's expression quickly shifted to a more serious one. "Listen. Tobias. I know you told us to keep quiet about you to Miss IF and the others, but I think you should give them a second chance."

Toby rolled his eyes. "This again? I told you already, I don't want to see any of them again. I moved to a better, more expensive apartment and I asked the lot of you to keep quiet about me just to avoid her altogether. I honestly don't want to see her face again for a long time."

The detective's grip tightened. "It's not just Miss IF askin' for ya. Lady Nepgear, as well as Compa, have been gettin' worried about ya. They-"

Toby shook Vektor's hand off his shoulder. "Enough of this Vektor. They've been treating me like a tool ever since I joined up with them. There's plenty of other people they can abuse for that. Just not me anymore."

Vektor sighed. "Well, kiddo. Alright. I suppose I can keep my big mouth shut for a little longer… I just wanted to help, Tobias. Nothing more."

"I know… Thanks, Vektor."

Moving past Vektor, Toby left the guild, heading for the Crystal Caverns to start his handful of quests.

As he stepped outside, he looked up to the sky. Unexpectedly, he saw Black Heart fly over at top speed, followed by White Heart and Green Heart. They seemed to be heading east, to Lowee.

Toby quickly lowered his head and kept walking. "Screw them... "

* * *

 **Approximately two hours later**

"Out of my sight!" Toby shouted, kicking the Kupokitty into the chasm before him. "That should be the last of them…"

Taking several bottles of healing grass out of his hammerspace, the teen began chugging them down like his morning coffee. He preferred to drink several bitter bottles of medicine rather than the extremely bitter alternative. Plus, it's actually cheaper to buy the lesser healing items in bulk.

After finishing his last bottle, the teen smacked his lips twice. It actually gets kind of bearable if you're a fan of bitter drinks like coffee, for example.

"..."

The teen looked around for a bit. While the caves were beautifully decorated with crystals of all sorts of colours, enlightening every dark corner, he felt kind of alone. Sure, he'd gone questing on his own several times this week. But for some reason today he felt especially lonely

Shaking his head, Toby pushed the thought away. "I'm fine on my own. I've got Siri. Hey. Siri. Did I finish all quests yet?"

* **Bleep** * " _Nifty, I am currently updating. Please wait. Estimated wait time: 6 hours and 44 minutes."_

"..."

Feeling like fate was trying to insult him, Toby headed deeper into the cave.

Running into several low-level monsters like Tulips, Pixelvaders and the occasional Plummet, Toby cut through each of them without breaking a sweat. After all the grinding he did, he got quite adept at one-shotting monsters by hitting one of their vital spots. Pros of using a rapier and being a fencer. The only hard part about this was finding the vital spot at first. But once he gets that out of the way, he no longer has to put any effort into fighting low-level monsters anymore.

Eventually, he reached the deepest part of the cave. It was a large open room with a single massive blue crystal in the middle, shining as bright as the neon signs of Planeptune at night. Beside that, far above him were even more crystals hanging from the ceiling like icicles. There were also several stalagmites scattered around the room, mostly populating near the walls.

"...That's it?" Toby mumbled out loud, sheathing his rapier. "No big boss? No rare loot? Not even a single monster? Gah. What a waste of time… Whatever. I'm out of healing items anyway."

Taking an escape button from his hammerspace, the teen got ready to exit the dungeon when suddenly he heard an ear deafening roar.

* **RAAAWRRR** *

Slightly startled, he jumped a little and frantically looked around. From behind the massive crystal stepped a pale white Ancient Dragon, giving the teen a frightening look with its red eyes.

" _An albino Ancient Dragon? This has to be some kind of rare encounter. And with rare encounters comes rare drops…"_

The sides of Toby's mouth curved up. This was exactly the challenge he'd been looking. "Man, this like that one scene of the HDN anime where Noire got her butt kicked in the first episode. Dead end in a cave. Massive dragon. Heck, I'm even all by my lonesome self."

* **RAAARRRGGG** *

The dragon dashed forward and smashed the ground before Toby, making him leap backwards. "Heh. The only difference is that I'm not going to lose!"

Unsheathing his blade, Toby pointed it to the monster while putting his off-hand behind his back. "Let's turn you into the myth you're supposed to be!"

The dragon raised his claw again and slashed at Toby, which easily parried it back with his blade. Using this opening, he lunged forward and slashed the monster's legs, pushing it off balance.

Not wasting any time, Toby jumped on the dragon's back and stabbed it right between its wings, making an attempt to finish the fight quickly.

As the monster let out a roar of pain, Toby smirked cockily. "I've seen pirates scarier than you, you good for nothing firefly," he insulted, pushing his blade in further.

Enraged, the dragon pushed itself up and slammed its back into a wall right after Toby pulled his blade out and jumped off over its head.

Landing on both his feet, he returned his gaze to the dragon. The wall behind it began showing large cracks, forming like lightning and reaching up to the ceiling. Looking up, he saw several large crystals fall down, one big enough to crush him heading straight for him.

"Whoa crap!" Toby cried, barely jumping out of the way.

With Toby mid-air and unable to dodge, the dragon seized its chance and spat a fireball the size of a basketball at the teen.

With widened eyes, Toby covered his face by crossing his arms before it, hoping it would lessen the impact. Obviously, it didn't.

"Gwaaargh!"

Dropping to the ground, he rolled around to try and extinguish himself, failing to notice the dragon creeping up to him. "Hot, hot! HOT! Fire! Argh! Oowww!"

With the dragon inching even closer, it raised its massive foot. Toby, finally realising what was about to happen, looked up at his impending doom. " _Damn it… It really is the first episode of the anime. Except there's no Neptune to rescue me."_

As the beast slammed its foot down, Toby instinctively held his blade up, piercing the monster right as it attacked.

enraged, the monster let out another roar of pain. But as much as it was hurt, it didn't stop pushing its foot down. Toby, still pinned down, desperately pushed his feet against the dragon's.

"Nggh… N-no! Not… Like… This!" Toby moaned under his breath.

Using all his strength, the teen held the dragon in place. His entire body was screaming for him to stop, to give in to the pressure. His muscles were burning. His mind felt like it was going blank. His lungs were slowly getting crushed by the sheer weight of the beast, making it difficult to breathe.

Gritting his teeth and closing his eyes, Toby made one final attempt to push the dragon back, taking a deep breath before using all he has left.

"Come on… Come… ON!"

Pushing both his blade and his feet up, the beast barely inched backwards. Not far enough to give him any breathing space.

Crying in agony, Toby made one last effort to escape. Slightly tilting his blade, he tried to redirect the beast's foot to the side.

Surprisingly, it worked.

The beast's paw smashed a few inches to Toby's left, crushing the ground and creating a shockwave strong enough to send him flying.

For a moment, Toby wasn't sure what had happened. With his ears ringing and his heart beating like crazy, he slowly opened his eyes, only to be faced with the stone cold ground. He tried to get up, but each of his limbs felt like they were on fire.

Forcefully pushing himself up into a sitting position, the teen tried to get a good view of his surroundings. His view was hazy and his head felt as heavy as a rock.

As his eyes slowly adjusted, he finally saw the pale dragon, laying on the floor on the opposite side of the room. The beast must've knocked him quite far for him to be all the way over here.

But of course, if the beast's corpse is still here, it means it's still alive. Otherwise, it would have vanished into data never to be seen again.

Taking a few deep breaths, Toby attempted to stand, but as soon as he set down his first foot, he quickly collapsed and fell face first onto the floor. Perhaps fighting an Ancient Dragon after a gauntlet of low-level monsters wasn't such a good idea after all.

Dropping on his head, Toby felt everything slowly going black. The last thing he remembered was… smelling something sweet. Almost as refreshing as a nice flower.

* * *

"..."

"..."

"... Huh!?"

The teen's eyes shot open as he came back to the world of the living. He tried to sit up, but his muscles were still feeling quite sore, so he quickly gave up on it.

With his vision clear again, Toby gazed around. He was in an unfamiliar setting.

"Wait… What happened?" he wondered out loud. "Did I-… Uh… Where am I?"

Recollecting his thoughts, he retraced his steps. He remembered going to the guild and accepting a load of quests before running into Vektor. He also remembered kicking a Kupo Kitty into in the face, which arguably is not an important detail to remember.

" _Oh wait. I lost to an Ancient Dragon!"_ Toby realised, his jaw slightly dropping. " _So… how am I alive?... And… Why can't I move? Why do I feel so warm?"_

Looking down, he saw nothing but blankets. Stacks and stacks of blankets resting on top of him, keeping nice and warm. "... _Whose bed is this?"_

Letting his eyes wander once more, Toby looked around the pink-ish room. It was a little smaller than Neptune's room, but it also was tidier than hers. To his left, there were several pictures of cute monsters hanging on the wall with a pair of thick photo albums, each resting on a book stand before them. The album on the left had the title ' _things I made_ ' written on it while the one on the right had the title ' _things I ruined_ ' written on it.

To his right, there was a simple green chair resting before a desk with some pens and pencils scattered across it. There also was a bouquet of white flowers, held together by a thick piece of rope resting on the chair. What an odd place to put some flowers.

The room also smelled pretty nice… Just a little detail he noticed.

With his body feeling like lead, Toby made the obvious choice of relaxing and waiting for something to happen, rather than get out of bed and make something happen.

Closing his eyes again, the teen was about to drift back to sleep, right as he heard the door creak open.

"Doo dee doo~! La dee da~!" A girl with a rather soft voice sang.

Opening his eyes, Toby examined the girl. She had dark blonde hair tied in two fluffy twin tails and wore an unbuttoned, green blouse with nothing below it. It was quite revealing considering you could see her stomach and the side of her flat chest... Not to mention her skirt. It just barely didn't cover her knees.

More noticeable were her accessories. She had a long piece of rope tightly wrapped around her neck, representing something like a noose a little too much. She also wore one of the same flowers of the bouquet in her hair.

Holding a tray with what appeared to be two bowls of soup, the girl set it down on the desk after pushing some of the pens and pencils out of the way. "I hope he likes tomato soup. I mean, I like tomato soup. But I know some people don't like it. So I also brought a bowl of miso soup… But maybe he's one of those people that dislikes both… Oww… Maybe I should've just made some yummy stew. Everyone loves stew."

Pacing worriedly around the room, the girl mumbled to herself on what she should do if he didn't like the soup she made.

" _This girl… Ignoring the fact she's incredibly cute, was she the one who dragged me out of that cave and put me in bed? She doesn't look so tough. What was she doing in that cave anyway?"_

looking to his right, the appetizing smell of the soup filled his lungs. " _I should probably say something… Maybe she'll feed me if I ask her to… Not for any creepy motives or anything. But mostly because I can barely move right now. And I'm feeling quite hungry."_

The girl, still looking more than worried, practically had her face buried in her hands by now. "Oww… Maybe he doesn't like soup at all. I should've ordered pizza," she whined.

"I don't dislike soup," Toby spoke up, making the girl stop in her tracks and turn to him with a beaming smile.

"Huh? Really? Hooray! I knew you'd love yummy soup for your tummy!"

"Uhh… Yeah. Totally?"

"..."

"..."

A moment of silence befell the two until the girl suddenly let out a yelp of surprise. "Eep! Y-you're… Awake?"

"Umm… Yes. I, uh… should probably thank you for dragging me out of that cave and all. I'm Tobias Karston by the way. Nice to meet you."

The girl's face turned as red as her tomato soup as she took a few steps back. She let out a few incoherent murmurs while covering her face with her hands.

Something about this made Toby's inner otaku speak up. " _D'aww. She's like a shy little sister. So cute..."_

Clearing his throat, Toby kindly asked the girl the most standard question when meeting someone new. "So what's your name?"

"... Li-... Lithyum. I'm Lithyum. Nice to-... Meet you," she whimpered, shivering as she spoke.

" _My god, so adorable. I could just eat her up… No. Focus Tobias. Let's stay professional and behave in a mannered human fashion."_

"I see… Well, Lithyum, nice to meet you." Freeing his right hand from the blankets, he held it out for a handshake. Lithyum examined the hand as if she didn't know the gesture. She then timidly used both hands to shake Toby's. After letting go, she looked her palms with intrigue silently.

" _... Cuteness… Overload… Gaaah!"_

Making one final attempt at suppressing his inner creep, Toby shook his head. "I, uh… I am feeling kinda hungry. This might sound... Weird, but could you feed me some of that delicious smelling soup you brought? I'm kinda sore from… you know."

"O-oh! Right! Uh! Right on it mister Karston!"

" _Mister? I'm not that old, right? I mean, compared to her I probably am. How old is she anyway? Did she really defeat that albino dragon, despite her age? So many questions."_

"Alright. Open wide. Here comes a little birdie."

Before he knew it, Lithyum was already holding a spoonful of tomato soup before him. Opening his mouth, Lithyum slowly fed him the soup. While it was still a little too warm, the taste was absolutely wonderful. It was just like the soup his mother used to make, if not better. He hadn't eaten anything so delightful since before he was transported to Gamindustri.

Swallowing the soup, Toby felt the need to praise the girl for her cooking skills. "This is so good. Did you make this yourself?"

Lithyum, already holding another spoon before him blushed a little. "H-huh? Really? You really love it? Hooray! Toby likes my cooking!"

Eagerly opening his mouth for another helping of the soup, Toby let the delicious meal swirl in his mouth a little to savour the flavour. Because of the soup, Toby failed to notice the girl actually called him Toby instead of mister Karston or simply Tobias.

"Anyway," Lithyum said, preparing another spoonful of soup, "I should probably tell you a little about myself. I'm Lithyum. I'm eighteen and I work for the guild as an agent. I also love video games, flowers and rope. I'm also a professional duelist. No one can match me when it comes to fencing. I also kicked that mean dragon's butt and put all the loot in your inventory."

Answering all of his questions, Toby was a little spooked. Not only because it felt like she just read his mind, but mostly because she was actually a full year older than him.

"R-really now? That's… awfully nice of you."

"Tee hee… I got more praise," she said with a lovely grin. "... Huh… Did I say that out loud?"

"Did you say what out loud?" Toby pretended to ask, not wanting to further embarrass the girl.

"Oh… Okay… Is there anything else you want? Another blanket? A glass of milk? Maybe a cute teddy to cuddle with?"

"Uh… No, I'm good. Thanks. Mind if I ask one more question?"

Slightly tilting her head, the girl gave Toby a quizzical look. "Hm? What is it?"

"What exactly were you doing in that cave?"

Freezing in place, the girl's face lit up like a stoplight again. "I-, uhh… Well I-, Err… T-Toby. I… Err…"

"Hey, relax. You can tell me. I won't judge you or anything."

"R-really… Alright… Then…"

Lithyum put her spoon down and made an apologetic bow. "I'm sorry! I actually followed you inside and… And… You're always with such beautiful ladies. So I never really dared to approach you… Ever since you first stepped into the guild. But today you were all alone and… And I thought… But I was too shy to approach you, even when you were alone and-... mmm… This is hard!"

Toby's eyes widened as he awkwardly averted his gaze. " _Is she saying she has been stalking me ever since I did my first quest? I mean… That's dedication, considering I've been here for about a little less than a month now. But why? Wait. She can't be trying to confess to me right? This is getting weird."_

With girl before him practically at her breaking point, Toby decided to interrupt her once more. "A-actually, never mind. It's fine… Hey. You're probably wondering why I'm not with those 'beautiful women' anymore, right?"

The girl gave a weak nod in response.

"Yeah. Mostly because they kicked me out of their party. I've kinda been going on quests alone for some time now."

Shocked, Lithyum literally jumped the bed on top of Toby, causing him to let out a loud grunt. "WHAT!? No way! Why would anyone wanna dump someone as awesome, handsome, coolsome and 'other words that end with -some' as you!?"

"I dunno. I just… wasn't living up their standards, I guess."

Smashing her fist in the palm of her hand, the girl gave him a determined look. "Well no more! From now on, you'll be the party leader of our party! That way you'll never be alone again."

"... Our party? Wait. You don't mean-"

"Uh-huh! We're going questing. Together. No questions asked."

Toby looked the girl over once more. " _She doesn't look like much. But she did say she managed to defeat that Ancient Dragon and all. Actually. Now that I'm seeing her from this close. I can practically see inside her shirt and see her_ -"

Knowing where the thought was going, Toby quickly looked the other way. " _NO! Look. The. Other. Way. Tobias. Now."_

Lithyum, on the other hand, seemed to be oblivious to the fact that her chest was completely visible for him to see. "Hm? Hey. Toby. Are you feeling alright? Your face is turning really really red."

"I-I-I'm fine, Lithyum. I just, err, I'll let you join my party if you get off of me. Okay?"

"Really!? Yippie! I made a new friend!"

Jumping off, causing Toby to let out another grunt as she pushed herself off by pressing her hands against his ribs, Lithyum quickly took a selfie with her phone of Toby and herself. "And because I made a new friend, I made something new. I need to add this to my photo album!"

The girl eagerly rushed out of the room, looking as happy as a Neptune in a pudding store.

…

" _Neptune… I wonder how they are doing. Anarchy Arena is in a few days. I wonder if they'll be fine."_

Toby checked his watch. He had about 5 new messages from IF.

" _... They'll be fine. I'm sure of it. Right now, I should just relax and have some fun with Lithyum… That's… Not as weird as it sounds. Good thing no one can read my mind."_

* * *

 **A few days later**

"Histoire. You called?" IF asked as she pushed the double doors to the meeting room open.

"IF. I am glad you could make it on such a short notice. Please. Take a seat."

IF sat down on the opposite side of the table from the Oracle. Histoire had asked IF to come meet her as soon as she could for an emergency meeting. Considering today is the final day before the Anarchy Arena event, the agent had a pretty rough idea of what Histoire wanted to discuss.

The tiny fairy cleared her throat and took a small sheet of paper from her hammerspace. "Now then. There are several things I'd like to discuss before I get to the main topic of this meeting. First of all, I'd like to tell you why I have only summoned you and not anyone else."

IF raised her hand like a student wanting to ask a question to its teacher. "I think I already know why. It's because of… You know. Uni."

Histoire nodded. "Close. But you are half right. Noire and Nepgear have both been feeling exceptionally down. While Noire seems to suppress her sorrows by training, Nepgear, on the other hand, has not left her room for days. I fear we may not get through this crisis with them both in such a state of dismay."

Histoire cleared her throat, trying to stay as professional as she could. "But… That subject is for another time. There is something else I would like to inform you about before we press on."

Taking another piece of paper from her hammerspace, the tome slid a few pictures across the table to IF. "These are pictures taken by the guild. They're from the excavation site Uni was found."

Taking one of the pictures in hand, IF examined it carefully, looking for any details she might've missed before. "Right… What about them?"

"According to my research, I have all the reason to believe that this excavation site was in actuality a burial site of an ancient, long forgotten evil CPU."

Putting down the picture, IF raised an eyebrow. "That's… an oddly specific detail. How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"After three days of research, I found an old folk legend in my records describing a place in Lowee similar to this one. The legend itself isn't as interesting. But if you are curious, it's about a warrior named Silver sealing an evil tyrant away. As legend speaks, he was a rather stylish fighter... Truly someone worthy of becoming a hero."

IF, looking the tome straight into the eyes, wondered whether or not Histoire was actually telling the truth. But she stopped doubting her when she realised she was serious.

"In any case," Histoire continued, "considering the only way to undo the seal was by using the blood of a CPU, I can only assume that this is exactly why Uni's body was this brutalised when Noire found her."

"So you're saying there will be another CPU running amok we have to worry about?"

Histoire shook her head. "Not exactly. Not only did these two heroes seal her away, they also trapped her soul in the Celestial Amulet. A necklace. This is the only record I have of this item. But it seems to be able to contain the soul of a CPU, or even a human."

"A soul container with the soul of a CPU. Why would Geoff need the soul of a CPU? Ugh. Just thinking about what kind of mayhem he could cause with something so powerful is making my head hurt."

"Indeed. This is something truly worrisome. But I'm afraid not even I have the answer to this, as I do not think Geoffrey is capable of reviving a CPU without her body."

Histoire, storing each of the pictures she took out back in her hammerspace, gave IF a serious look once more. "Now then. About the reason why I have summoned you personally..."

IF silently gestured Histoire to continue.

"As you know, our doctors are preparing Neptune for her examination as we speak. By tomorrow, she will be, I quote, 'cut open for further research'. I would never allow such a doctor to examine Neptune if I could have managed to find what exactly is wrong with her, but as it stands, he is the best man we have."

After all this time, not even Compa nor Histoire could find what was wrong with Neptune. And with each passing day, her condition seemed to be worsening. Running out of options, the tome called for the best doctor in Gamindustri. This doctor, however, has a questionable method of operating. While he keeps it mostly a secret, his assistants have seen him use everyday objects such as vacuum cleaners and duct tape while operating.

But in the end, it's the result that matter. And each of his patients did survive and lived their lives normally after their operations.

"Right. But we're still one member short," IF commented.

The day after she kicked Toby out of the party, she had already found a replacement. One of her old friends, Falcom, happened to just be in town. Eager to help her friend in need, Falcom didn't hesitate to take Toby's place as the eighth member. But now that Neptune is no longer able to participate, it seems like Falcom will instead be the seventh participant.

"Indeed," Histoire responded. "IF... As it stands right now, we are clearly running out of options. You said you have started looking for a replacement for Neptune about a week ago, correct?"

"Yeah," IF answered with hollow tone. "But... This is going to sound crazy, but everyone I was going to ask went missing as of late. RED, 5pb., Cave, Broccoli, Tekken, Marvy, everyone. No one has seen them for days," IF grimaced at the thought. "And I don't want to ask any agent from the guild either. They're just not the kind of people to enough fit in with the others. Not because they're weak or anything. But because most of them are lone wolves. We need someone that we know can perform well with others or we'll be digging our own graves."

"I understand. Then I hope you will also understand what I'm about to tell you."

Histoire leaned forward with both her hands on her lap, looking even more serious than before. "IF… We need to take Toby back in the party."

* * *

 **Alright, be honest with me. How many of you did not see this coming? I mean, obviously, I wouldn't kill of Toby like that.**

 **Hey there. Thanks again for reading. And also thanks for voting on the poll on my profile page (hint hint ;P). Anyway, I just want to quickly announce that I've found a replacement beta reader. He wishes to stay anonymous (I dunno why), but I can safely say he's already made a good impact on the story and on future chapters. Kudos to him.**

 **For those who've read the announce, I decided to not use any BGM this chapter. It'll fit in better with next chapter's setting. So look forward to seeing it then.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading. Until next time.**


	9. Chapter 9 - Today's Coward

**Edit 5/4/18: Apparently fanfic's docs can't handle single capital letters in a row. So it just put the 'R' in and nothing else. Fixed this to make it spell out what it was supposed to be.**

 **Also made some other fixes. I dunno how this one broke so badly.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Today's Coward**

Chowing down on a handful of potato chips, Geoffrey leaned back on the sofa, holding his food in one hand and the TV remote in the other.

" _Ricardo. Please,"_ the woman on TV begged with an Italian accent, tears filling her eyes. " _Don't do this or you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"_

Swallowing his food, Geoffrey leaned forward a little, being completely absorbed by the soap drama.

Ricardo dramatically turned around and spoke with a Spanish accent. " _Isabella. Please. I-... I have to tell you something. I am actually… a werewolf._ "

"I knew it!" Geoffrey shouted, filling his mouth with another handful of chips.

" _Ricardo… No! I do not know what to say."_

" _You need not say anything, my love. Please. Accept my kiss."_

" _Oh Ricardo~"_

" _Isabella~"_

"... Still a better love story than Twilight. Eh. Dang it. This soap was great until they started making out like that… My god, that Ricardo is one ugly son of a gun under that shirt. Alright, changing the channel."

Pointing the remote at the TV, felt a hand grab him by his shoulder. "What the- WHOA!"

Getting pulled over the sofa, he was abruptly tossed against the floor. "Ow… My back."

Slowly hoisting himself up, he froze as he saw a familiar monochrome sceptre being pointed at his throat. Following the staff, the wielder was none other than Rei Ryghts, having a slightly more livid expression than usual.

"My lady!? What brings you to the living room of the Basilicom?"

"Uhh, I don't know, maybe because it's MY Basilicom I tend to hang around here and live here? The real question is, what are YOU doing here?"

Geoffrey tried to back away from the sceptre, but Rei pressed her heel on his chest, keeping him well in place. "Ow! I-, uh, was just taking a break from all the work I've done."

"A break?" Rei's mad expression got even scarier as she repeated his words. "That's weird. I could've sworn that your employment agreement stated that you don't get to take breaks."

"But-"

"So why are you taking one then, hm? Are you trying to jeopardize my nation? Like those disgusting maggots did all those years ago?"

Drops of cold sweat formed on the man's forehead. "Not at all, my lady! I would give my life for Tari."

"Your life you'll be giving, alright? Tsk. Whatever. Alright. Get up." Pointing her sceptre the other way, Rei offered her hand.

"Huh?"

"I said, get up," Rei commanded. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Taking up on her offer without further hesitation, Geoffrey grabbed her hand. Pulling him up, Rei let go of the man half way up, causing him to fall back down again."Whoops. April fools, you fool. Gwahaha!"

"Oww… My back… But it's August twenty-eight… Ugh…"

Rubbing his rear while getting back up on his own, Geoffrey did his best to suppress his anger. "Is there anything else you wanted to tell me, my lady?"

"Hm? Oh. I almost forgot. I was actually looking for you." Taking a poster from her hammer space, she held it in one hand, with the other hand on her hip. "Care to explain what the hell this is?"

"Let's see… Anarchy Arena? I, uh, do not-... I may know what that is."

With a single spark from her sceptre, the poster was cleanly reduced to ashes right before the man's eyes. "Oh, so you do know? I mean, it would've been strange if you didn't because one, your assistant's name is under the names of honorary guests. Two, this CFW Magic person looks an awful lot like the bitch you've revived some time ago, which you still need to explain. And three, we are sponsoring them for some reason. I do not recall ever giving you PERMISSION to sponsor a criminal event such as this."

"... I can explain."

Waving her hand, Rei gestured the man to continue.

"You see, my lady, the event is a medium. Ever since that, ahem, ' the last party' we organised, people have been losing their faith you."

Slamming her sceptre against the floor angrily, Rei stopped the man. "Don't blame me for that! I was right to call them maggots. Every single one of them. Especially that big fat middle-aged one beside you."

"R-right. It caused people to lose faith in you. So I decided to sponsor this event in the hope of gaining more shares for Tari."

In truth, the real reason Geoffrey sponsored the event was because he needed one of the CPU candidates, but he obviously wasn't planning on telling Rei his selfish reasoning.

"Pff. I call bullcrap," the cyan CPU disagreed. "You could've just organised another royal festival or whatever. If you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself, no?"

"That wouldn't be such a bad idea… If you wouldn't call all your followers maggots." Geoffrey mumbled the last part.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! I, uh, I'll just go and schedule a royal festival or whatever for the day after Anarchy Arena."

A wicked smile formed on the CPU's face. "Good. You know, you've been working pretty hard lately. I'm sort of starting to feel proud of having someone like you working below me."

Surprised, the man quickly made a respectful bow. "Thank you, my lady. It is an honour hearing you say those kind wo- AAAGH!"

During his thanking, Rei unleashed a powerful bolt of thunder, electrifying the man.

"But that doesn't excuse you from failing to inform me about this whole Anarchy Arena event. In fact, I expect you to work two times… no… four times as hard as before. Just because of this one miss-step. Let this be a lesson for you."

Geoffrey, laying on the floor, blackened and smoking, slowly raised his hand and gave her a thumbs up. With one final kick to his side, Rei scoffed and left the room. "Pathetic little ant."

* * *

Taking the last bite of his sandwich, Toby checked his watch. " _Ten in the evening,"_ he thought. " _Lithyum's late. She should've been here about twenty minutes ago_ "

It's been several days since Lithyum had saved him from that Ancient Dragon. As one might expect, the two have been going on quests together from that day on and they were a surprisingly good team. Who knew that having two expert fencers in one party could reduce the workload by so much?

Naturally, the two would still hang out with each other long after their quests were done. They haven't gotten to a lover level yet, as Toby's been a little too shy to ask and Lithyum seemed too innocent to even consider the thought, but at this rate, Toby was certain he had found the love of his life.

As of now, the two were just about done with a long series of quests involving killing several large monsters. Disregarding the amazing drops, quest rewards and beyond unbelievable credit payouts, Lithyum took all the loot and told her partner to wait for her by the fountain at the central square.

But as the minutes went by, the teen grew more and more worried about his friend. She did take _all_ of the loot after all. What if she got mugged on her way? Maybe she ran off with all the good stuff and simply ditched him? What if-

"Sorry I'm late!" Lithyum chirped happily, interrupting Toby's thought process. "There was a line at the store, so I had to wait a little bit before they would let me buy you a present."

The girl held out her hands towards him, holding a carefully wrapped gift. "A present? For me?"

With a beaming smile and an overly excited series of nods, the girl pushed the gift into Toby's hands. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. I went out of my way to buy this for you. I hope you like it. But if you don't, I still have the receipt, so you can refund it at any time you want."

Taking the package, Toby carefully shook the box next to his ear. It sounded like something small and metallic was inside. Something like a chain. A necklace perhaps? Maybe a wristband?

"Geez. I dunno what to say. Thanks, Lithyum. You're making me feel a little guilty for not getting you anything."

"Tee hee. I just wanted to be nice. That's all."

Unwrapping his gift, Toby found himself holding a small box perfectly fit for keeping in jewellery. Sure enough, inside the box were two silver bracelet with flower emblems chained to them. The silver flower somewhat resembled the white lily in Lithyum's hair.

"Are these… Friendship bracelets?"

"Yup yup. We've been hanging out for a super long time now-"

"About five days now," Toby added.

"-so I thought we I should get you something nice. I mean, I have a lot of good friends. But you're my goodest friend."

Smiling at the girl's usual cute demeanour, Toby shook his head. "Jeesh. You sure know how to make me feel special."

Wrapping her arms around Toby's, the girl leaned in closer, her face a few inches away from his. "But Toby. You ARE special."

Toby blushed and slightly leaned away. "R-really now? I-I-I see. Li-Lithyum. You're… Really close, you know?"

"Hm? What's wrong with being close? We're friends. It's only weird if we weren't, right? Plus, you're always so warm in this cold weather. It must be that super swagger orange body warmer. I wish I had one as cool as yours."

Feeling his face redden up even more, the teen tried to think of simply anything to say. "Well, I-… You know, that-... One thing I should-..."

As the girl tightened her grasp and gazed at the teen with her confused but adorable eyes, Toby exhaled and gave up on trying to justify Lithyum's odd behaviour. "I guess you can get this close because we're friends. But please. At least give me a little breathing space."

"Hm? Oh! Yeah. I just had some Ancient Dragon Stew on my way here. I guess I do smell out of my mouth."

If her taking out a small pack of gum and munching down two pieces wasn't a sign of how oblivious she actually was to what she was doing, she then proceeded to lean in closer again. "Alright. I gave you some breathing space. Let's go somewhere fun!"

"Whoa! Hey. No need to pull me by my arm. Slow down!"

Lithyum, still pulling Toby along the busy street, she was in awe by all the pretty lights and colourful places that decorated the still ruined streets of the city. "Whoa. So many places to go. I wonder which one of these Toby would like the most," she questioned, ignoring the fact said Toby was a few inches away from her.

Toby, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable with how fast things were going. They only met a few days ago. Should he really be this close with her already?

" _Maybe things are going a little too fast,_ " Toby thought. " _Perhaps I should stand up for myself and tell her. But then again, what's wrong with being this close with someone you like? Sure, it might've been a little too soon, but if you're made for each other, then perhaps this is just how it goes. I mean, what would IF say if she saw me like this?_ "

The teen looked to his side. She looked like she's really enjoying herself. " _Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Yeah. I definitely am. I mean, who cares what IF thinks about this? Or anyone for that matter? It's my life. I can do what I want. No one's going to tell me off. And if they do, then that's their problem."_

Riddening his mind of any more troubled thoughts, Toby made a faint smile. " _Let's just enjoy this to the fullest._ "

The two kept on moving down the busy street until Toby stopped himself and Lithyum. "Hey look. An arcade," he pointed out. "Wanna check it out?"

"Ooh~. I love the arcade. A super duper good choice."

 **BGM: Mario Bros. [Arcade] - Stage 1**

The arcade was filled with lanes of game cabinets and claw machines with cute plushies. With the added catchy music, giving it that true 80's feel, it felt like the perfect place to hang out with friends. A little retro, sure. But just because it's old doesn't mean it isn't fun.

the place wasn't as crowded as expected either. In fact, there was no one here beside themselves and the staff. It might be because today's Tuesday. Toby never really understood how Gamindustri worked in that regard, as he has seen some places be deserted on weekends too, but be completely crowded on normal work days.

While Toby was monologuing to himself about this, Lithyum was running around like a kid in a candy store. "Whoa! Look at this game. And that game. And what about this crane game? Hey Toby, pass me a credit. I wanna try this one," she pleaded, pressing her face against the glass.

"Hm? Oh, I wouldn't try the crane games if I were you. Those things are rigged to the max. The house always wins."

"Really? Hmm… Well… Maybe you should try it then. Let the Orange Outplay outplay the house."

Before Toby could make a retord, the girl had already taken out her wallet and inserted a few quarters into the machine. "Go get 'em, tiger."

"Wait… But I'm like… Atrocious at these games. I never won at these once in my entire life."

"Pff. The Toby I know only loses to rare albino Ancient Dragons. Which only spawn at a rate of one in a million. So your chances of winning are… uh… over ninety percent."

Pushing Toby forward and laying his hands on the buttons, Lithyum forced him to play the game. "Go get 'em, tiger… Again."

Putting very little effort into protesting, Toby sighed. "Fine. But don't you dare complain if I lose. We'll try this once and once only."

Before pushing anything, Toby checked the contents of the game. The machine was filled with chibi plushies of the CPUs and CPU candidates in their goddess form. Of course she would pick this machine, out of all the ones around here. But it's not like he would win any of them anyway. So who cares, really.

"Hmm… I'll try and get my favourite one, alright?"

"Eee. Here he goes."

There's a plushy of White Heart to the side, sitting perfectly straight up in a good position for the claw to get a good grip. "Target spotted."

Pressing the button, the couple watched breathlessly as the claw moved forward, perfectly aligning with the plushy of Blanc.

Still feeling like this was a waste a perfectly good quarter, Toby pressed and held the other button and made the claw move horizontally. It was now right above his target, descending slowly to lift it back up.

"Now, as I said, it doesn't really matter whether you get a good grip or not," Toby began, already turning his back to the machine. "I mean, these claws just aren't strong enough to lift any of these plushies up. And even if they are, they usually lose their grip half way up. So by that logic, I can easily tell without even looking that we-"

"W.E.H.A.V.E.A.W.I.N.N.E.R"

"... huh?"

Toby turned back around as the machine declared him to be a winner. Bending down to check the prize box, there sat the same plushy of Blanc from before, ready to be taken home. "Did I just win?"

"Vocalised gasp! Toby. You're an expert at these claw games?

Taking the plushy and holding it up, Toby felt somewhat accomplished for winning. "Well, I mean, I guess I just lucked out. Here. Let me try again and show you that these things really are rigged."

"Get me one of Nepgear! I want one of Nepgear!"

Inserting another quarter Toby, carefully moved the crane to grab the Nepgear doll. Good thing it's not some kind of Nepgya doll. That thing isn't just funny. It's also nightmare inducing under the right circumstances.

Sure enough, as the claw descended and grabbed the cuddable Nepgear, it somehow stuck to the crane like glue and dropped into the prize hole.

"W.E.H.A.V.E.A.W.I.N.N.E.R"

Amazed at his skill, Lithyum grabbed the plush and hugged it tightly. "Oh mi gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I've always wanted one of these."

Still confused on what was going on, Toby inserted another quarter into the machine and tried to win himself another plushy. This time he was gunning it for Uni. If he wins this one, he could have a little fun with his friend.

"W.E.H.A.V.E.A.W.I.N.N.E.R"

Still unsure how he did it, he took the doll of Uni and held it up with one hand close to the Nepgear doll. "Hey. Lithyum. Check this out. Ahem."

Clearing his throat, Toby spoke in a girlish, stereotypical tsundere voice. " _I mean it's not like I like you or anything Nepgear. I'm just too tsun to admit I'm madly in love with you, that's all_."

Lithyum giggled at the display. "Tee hee. That's so accurate, it's not even funny. Wait. Hang on. Ahem."

Putting up a stuttery, unsure voice, Lithyum tried her best to impersonate Nepgear. " _Goodness, Uni. I-I-I didn't know you felt this way. M-maybe we can k-k-k-kiss."_

" _Oh Nepgear! I would never kiss your filthy Planeptune lips. It's not like I want to kiss you or anything."_

" _What the goodness. I'm so sorry Uni. Goodness, I didn't know you felt that way about me. Goodness."_

" _Yeah. Now please make love with me Nepgear."_

" _Goodness. Okay."_

Toby and Lithyum both pushed the dolls against each other and made kissing sounds, after which they both bursted out into laughter.

"Wait, wait," Toby said, taking the Blanc plushy and shaking it a little, pretending it was speaking. " _Whoa. I never knew those two were so passionate. I should write a fanfic about this."_

Lithyum responded by laughing even louder than she did before. "Bwa ha ha! So true!"

When the two were finally done role-playing, Toby inserted a few more quarters into the machine and attempted to win the rest of the cast. Almost unsurprisingly, he got each of them within a few tries.

Collecting their spoils, the two left the empty machine and continued on, carrying all of their plushies outside their hammerspace. There was a sort of genuine feel to carrying your spoils around the arcade. It's like an unwritten rule to show off everything you have won.

It was then that Toby heard a familiar tune play in the background.

"DDR?" Toby mumbled out loud. "I didn't know those things existed here."

Sure enough, there was a Dance Dance Revolution machine standing against the wall, playing a typical catchy song.

Lithyum, dropping all of her dolls in shock, happily jumped up and down as she saw the machine. "Hey hey, I wanna play that thing over there. Can we? Aww, can we please?"

"Sure. I mean, we're here to have fun, so why not? Be warned though, I used to be pretty good at these."

Making a small pile of all their dolls, Toby got another quarter from his pocket and inserted it into the machine. "I'll put the difficulty on light so you can get used to this, alright?"

Shrugging, Lithyum pushed her friend aside and put the difficulty all the way up to expert and instantly pressed start. "Get ready to be stomped by a little girl~," she sang, jumping in place as a warm-up.

"Oh, you're on, girly," Toby said, getting in position and grabbing the handlebar behind him.

 **BGM end**

After the game was done, the two looked at their scores, both out of breath and dumbfounded.

"We're… tied? How… ha... is that even possible? Whew."

Lithyum giggled in a cute fashion. "I think... it means we're... on the same level. That's so cool," she mumbled, catching her breath in between her words.

"Well... ha... I, on the other hand, demand a rematch. You up for another round?"

Clapping her hand together, Lithyum gave Toby a determined look. "I can go for at least six more rounds."

"Alright. Let's do this then!"

Right as Toby took yet another quarter from his pocket, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he was faced with none other than the CPU of Lowee, Blanc.

"Eh? Blanc? What are you doing here?" Toby asked in dismay.

With her usual poker face, Blanc spoke in with a casual bored tone. "IF asked me to help her look for you. To be honest, I'm amazed she failed to find you before me. You changed your status to _being retro at the arcade_ on Chirper."

"Alright, but why exactly are you looking for me?"

Lithyum, pushing herself against Toby's back, looking over his shoulder, suddenly chimed in. "Hey, hey. Who's this cute girl, Toby? She looks like the CPU of Lowee, but flatter."

As the words left her mouth, Toby knew things were going to turn sour very quickly.

"F-flatter!?" Blanc bellowed in anger. "You little bitch. If you weren't hiding behind this kid here, I would've flattened you with my hammer."

"...K-kid? Wait, no! Blanc! She didn't mean it like that, she just-,"

"Shut the hell up and get out of the way before I also smash you to bits!"

Taking out her hammer and firmly holding it in both hands, Blanc got readjusted herself to crush the couple to atoms.

"Did I say something wrong?" Lithyum calmly asked. "I mean, I also got no boobies whatsoever, so that means I can call others flat too, right?"

"That's not how it works with Blanc at all, Lithyum. Please tell her you're sorry before she kills us both."

"Right. Okay. Uh. I'm sorry I lied about your fruitful chest, pretty lady," Lithyum apologised, making a respectful bow as she did. "I've just heard tales of the CPU of Lowee having a bountiful chest and didn't know the stories were a little off."

Blanc seemed a little confused as well as a little gleeful at the compliment. "I, uh… I see. I accept your humble apologies."

" _Whoa. Her temper just did a complete one-eighty,"_ Toby thought. " _Good job, girly."_

"Anyway," Blanc continued as she put her hammer back in her hammer space, "IF's looking for you, Toby. Follow me."

As Blanc lead the way, Lithyum gave Toby a puzzled look, to which he responded with a shrug.

* * *

As the trio approached the central square of Planeptune, which was just as empty as the arcade was, Toby instantly spotted IF's long blue coat.

Getting up from her bench, she approached them with a smile. "Yeesh. You're one hard man to track down, you know that? Thanks, lady Blanc."

"No problem," Blanc shrugged, as she settled herself on the Bench IF just got up from, book in hand. "If you don't mind, I'll just continue reading until you are ready to go."

"Don't bother," IF reassured. "This won't take long."

Toby scratched the back of his head. "What won't take long?"

IF turned back to her old friend. "Oh, nothing really. I just wanted to discuss something with you. I mean, we could've done this over the phone if you actually checked your messages for once."

While averting his gaze, Toby made a frown. IF might not be aware of it, but he read every single message she sent him. He just didn't want to respond to any of them. "Yeah. My bad, I guess."

"Don't worry. It's fine. Anyway, I've got something serious to ask you. And if I may be so rude, can we do this without any outside onlookers?"

IF nodded towards Lithyum, which had been dreamily watching them in silence.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Toby retorted.

"Sorry. It's official business. We can't have any outside onlookers and-"

With a more serious tone, Toby spoke. "I SAID, it won't be necessary."

For once, Toby talked back to IF. He's never done it before, mostly because he had no reason to. But for some reason, IF's overly secretive and friendly attitude ticked him the wrong way. Especially after kicking him out like she did last week.

"Huh? Toby. It's entirely necessary. We can't just leak official information to civilians."

IF's reasoning felt pretty legit to Toby. But he didn't want to give IF her way just like that. Maybe he should try his luck once more?

"Either she stays or we're both leaving."

With raised eyebrows, the agent was taken aback by Toby's back talk. "What? You're not serious, are you? Well… Alright. Fine. She can stay, I guess. I'll just cut to the chase then."

Toby didn't actually expect that to work. But it did. And it made him feel pretty satisfied. Perhaps it wasn't so bad to stand up for himself every so now and then.

"Good. Now, what was it you were about to say?"

"Well, you see," IF started, taking out her cell phone and showing Toby a picture of Neptune in bed. "Nep still hasn't recovered from that injury. She'll be brought to the hospital by tomorrow, but as you can guess, it means she won't be able to fight at Anarchy Arena."

"Hm? Anarchy Arena?" Lithyum suddenly spoke up. "Oh! I totally forgot. I also bought us two tickets so we could see the spectacle live. Cool, huh, Toby?"

"Uhh… Yeah. Murder. Cool."

As IF only now really paid attention to the girl, she looked her from head to toe. "Say, have we met before? You look pretty familiar."

Lithyum, as shy as ever in the presence of strangers, slowly moved behind me. "Uhh. I-I work at the guild… A-as an agent. And I do quests and… stuff."

"Uh-huh. I see. Right. Anyway," IF continued, "it means we're one member short. Which is why I asked Blanc to help me look for you."

"Wait. You want me to join your party to Anarchy Arena?"

IF shook her head and waved her hands before her. "I know, I know. I took you out of the party myself not too long ago for the very reason so you wouldn't need to put your life on the line for us. But I've got no one else to replace Nep."

Toby silently glared at IF. She certainly has some nerve to even consider asking him again.

"So what do you say? Still feeling like joining in?"

"Ohh. Toby's going to fight in Anarchy Arena. How exciting," Lithyum murmured, still a little shy of IF.

Taking a brief moment to think, the teen looked to his side. Lithyum was looking at him with adoration, holding her hands clenched. He then looked at IF, which had her hand on her side and gave him a warm smile.

First she kicks him and then she pleads for him to come back. Surely, this has to be some kind of sick joke. But it's not like he wants to outright reject her either. Perhaps trying to politely refuse her was the best choice.

Having made up his mind, Toby responded. "I'm sorry. But kindly refuse your offer."

"..."

"..."

Silence. Lithyum, IF, and Blanc as well, looked at the teen in utter confusion. For the longest time, none of them could bring themselves to say anything.

"What?" IF finally asked.

"I said, I refuse your offer. Thanks for asking though."

"Wait. I thought you wanted to be part of all this. What gives?"

"Yeah, nothing personal, but I don't feel like being a member of a couple of slave drivers. That's all."

Blanc, taking this the most personal, lowered her book with a grimace. "Slave drivers? When did I ever make you do work for me?"

"Well, surprisingly you're the only one that didn't make me do all the work. But when it came to Neptune or Noire, they'd either do nothing and sit on the sideline all day long or they'd complain about something as trivial as wanting to go home and stop working or not working fast enough. And I vaguely remember Vert using me for… Something I'd rather not talk about."

The petite CPU raised an eyebrow, closing her book and putting it beside her on the bench. "You're not wrong. They can be a little… quirky, but they're really nice when you get to know them."

The excuse made Toby only roll his eyes. "Sure. Sure. Well, maybe I should talk about you then. Remember back on the ship? When we had to get back to Planeptune? I'm pretty sure they dumped me with you back there. And you decided to carry me over your shoulder, instead of just carrying me normally."

"What? There's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah, no. There was. Especially when you were YELLING at me to stop staring at your butt. Spoilers, I was looking the other way the entire time."

Blanc let out a hiss. "Okay, that was just… Well, can you blame me for suspecting you?"

"Yes… Because I wouldn't have been able to stare if you would've carried me normally in your arms."

"So your perverted hands would be within reach to fondle my chest?"

"What che-" IF covered Toby's mouth before he could finish his insult.

"Alright, alright. You've made your point," IF exclaimed. "Look. I get it. You've been avoiding us for the past few days. But if you don't come with us, all of Gamindustri might be doomed."

"Sounds like an exaggeration," Lithyum quietly mumbled.

"It clearly is," Toby agreed with a nod, patting the girl on her shoulder.

"Oh for the love of-, Toby! Please! Don't be such a whiny loser and stop being so stubborn! What, you want me to get on my knees and beg for you to join us? Because I'm not going to!"

"Maybe… Maybe you should help them out, Toby?" Lithyum timidly asked.

Giving the three brunettes a final look, the teen turned his back to them. "Thanks but no thanks. I'm good."

Slowly walking away, the teen heard IF shout at him. "You know what? Fine! Be like that. I'll just find someone else. Just you wait!"

Shaking his head, Toby continued pacing off. " _To be honest, I'm sure they'll find someone else,_ " he thought. " _I mean, Nep's a walking Deus Ex Machina. There's no way they won't find anyone else._ "

"Wait!"

Toby turned back around to the three. The one who commanded him to stop was Lithyum, of all people. "I… I don't know what's going on. But I don't like it when my friends fight like this. So maybe-... Maybe you two should just resolve this in a duel."

"A duel?" IF asked. "You mean I should fight Toby?"

Nodding, Lithyum continued. "Y-yes. And if you win, Toby will rejoin your party."

" _A duel between me and IF?"_ Toby internally asked himself. " _I'm not sure if I'd win it, considering she's fully capable of using magic and all sorts of special moves. And considering I don't know any specials of my own, I'd be at an enormous disadvantage. But maybe…"_

"And what if I win?"

Lithyum turned to her friend with a gleeful look, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well… Eheh, maybe you can, you know… Being a boy and all and she being a girl… Tee hee. If you win, you could get her bod and do something _ecchi._ '

"Wait, what?" both Blanc and IF shouted.

"... Huh?"

Lithyum, fidgeting on the spot, continued her explanation. "I mean, Toby is a boy. He used to be super close with this lady in the blue coat. Then he picked lady Blanc for his potential girlfriend. And then he became my bestest buddy. I think he has a thing for flat brunette's."

Both IF and Blanc checked each other's chest before checking their own. One felt mildly disappointed, while the other wanted to rip someone's eyes out for realising the shocking truth. Toby, on the other hand, felt massively embarrassed by Lilthyum's accurate description.

Trying to avoid any more embarrassment, the teen waved his hands before him. "Right, cool, whatever, we'll run with it. If I win, I, uh, get what she just said."

The agent's eyes turned into something that could only be described as 'white plates'. "Wait, you're seriously going along with this? You're either trying to spite me or just plain perverted. And I hope to goddess it isn't the latter."

If Toby could've thought of any other prize, he would've suggested it. But as it stands, he would have to look like a pervert for trying to show IF he's not some tool to be used by anyone.

Quietly drawing his blade, he pointed it forward to the brunette, putting his off hand on his back.

The agent hissed, drawing her quatars from the sleeves of her oversized coat. "Tsk. Whatever. If it's a fight you want, you can get one. I would never lose to a sick pervert like you anyway."

"I didn't spend my days twiddling my thumbs, you know? I'm not the same 'kid' you used to rescue from a crowd of pixelvaders."

"Indeed you aren't. The kid from back then would never have turned his back on his friends."

"The kid from back misunderstood slave driving for friendship!"

IF readied herself, taking a battle-ready stance. "And here I thought you were actually nice. I used to like you, you know? I'd almost go _that_ far. But now I see you're no different from Geoffrey."

Lithyum took a few steps back and settled herself next to Blanc, which gave the girl a gentle tap on the shoulder as she sat down. "Oi. You."

"Hm? Me?"

"Just what the hell were you thinking?"

Shyly staring at the goddess, Lithyum, hid her face in her hands. "I-... I just wanted to help…"

"..."

Blanc returned her gaze to the battle at hand. Both IF and Toby were staring each other down, waiting for the other side to make the first move.

"I suppose some grudges can't be settled peacefully."

* * *

 **Man. Toby sure turned into a jerk all of the sudden... Maybe justified so?**

 **Hey everyone. I just wanted to quickly discuss the recent poll I had on my profile. A grand total of six people voted (which, again, is six more than I anticipated). The votes were pretty mixed though. But I think it comes down to 'it wasn't so bad. Just a little too sudden. Give more foreshadowing if something is going to happen'.**

 **I'll definitely keep this in mind from now on when something serious is going to happen. So a final shout out to all of those that voted. You proved that people do read these author notes.**

 **Finally, like I promised, I suggested a single BGM track for the arcade. I don't think I'll hold another poll asking whether or not you peeps liked it, but if you did or didn't, you can always feel free to let me know in any other way.**

 **Oh hey, look. The author notes look like a cluster of text again. In the true tradition of this fic, time for a minor spoiler for the next chapter... Or so I would. In actuality, here's a little tip for you keen readers. Don't you think it's a little weird she somehow knows Toby picked Blanc as his potential girlfriend all the way back in chapter 4? I don't think Toby would've told her about something so small.**

 **Anyway, cya guys next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10 - On Behalf of Planeptune

**'What's this? A new chapter within a week's time? Blasphemy! It must have been rushed!' Nope. Not only is this the 10th chapter in the story (woo, double digits), but it also is one of the chapters I've been looking forward to writing since the very start of this fic. I went pretty all out with this one (shout out to my beta readers [yes, plural] for helping me out), so I hope you guys will like it just as much as I liked writing it.**

 **-Reviewing the review(s)** :

To Broach Or To Put Up: that'd very strange indeed. Also as cliché as the soap drama Geoffrey was watching at the start of the previous chapter. 'Isabella... I am actually... A ghost. Ooo~' But keep guessing.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: On Behalf of Planeptune**

IF and Toby stared each other down, watching each other carefully. IF twirled one of her qatars in one hand; Toby remained frozen, tall and straight, pointing his blade forward with one hand and having the other behind his back.

Blanc and Lithyum watched in silence, waiting for the inevitable conflict to ensue. While neither of them wanted any of this to happen, they knew that this was something that had to be done. And if they intervened now, the bond between IF and Toby might be shattered forever.

IF relaxed herself just a little bit and examined her opponent. From experience, she learnt that knowing your enemy is half the battle. Fortunately, she had seen Toby fight on more than one occasion.

In fact, they even got to discuss his fighting style the same day he arrived in Gamindustri. From what she remembered, Toby was an excellent duelist, someone capable of holding his own against a single opponent. While he might not have the best finishing moves, he excelled at disarming an opponent and defending himself, which is why he still hasn't moved from his spot. He wanted IF to attack him first.

Not only that, but the difference in weapons also put IF at a disadvantage. Toby's rapier has a far longer reach than her qatars. Which means that in theory, he could keep her at a fair distance for the entire fight. But on the other hand, if IF could close that gap, she would be the winner of this duel without a doubt. Plus, she has the long range advantage, as her magic is able to cover a large area. Of course, it would have to be used as a last resort, as she didn't intend on actually killing the guy.

Impatiently, Toby brandishes his blade from side to side. "What's the matter? Getting cold feet?" he taunted.

IF didn't dignify his words with a response. If she wanted to win this, she'd need to be patient. She only needed one shot to end this battle.

'... C'mon. I'm letting you go first. The least you can do is me up on my offer," Toby said, lowering his blade for a brief moment.

Again, IF ignored his words.

Having stood in the standoff for about three minutes, Toby's patience had finally run out. "Well, if you're not going to make a move, then I will."

Sprinting towards the agent, Toby lunged his blade forward, aiming at her mid-section. evading to her left, she narrowly avoided the steel blade, crossing her qatars against it, holding it tightly in place. In the blink of an eye, IF raised her foot and kicked the teen in his pelvis, catching a loud grunt from him.

Expecting him to stumble back and let go of his blade, she was shocked when he instantly grabbed her leg and tossed her to his left.

Falling almost face first to the ground, she raised her arm and turned her fall into a roll, getting easily back on her feet while creating some distance.

"God… Damn it," Toby grunted, rubbing his off-hand on the spot she kicked him. "Don't underestimate me!"

Dashing forward once more, Toby raised his blade above his head. IF made a faint, but cocky smile as tossed one of her qatars up, deflecting his attack with the other and following up with a palm strike to his chin. Staggering backwards, Toby rapidly recovered.

IF, getting pretty full of herself, caught her qatar and beckoned to him. "Well come on then. Come at me!"

"You cocky little-... Gah!"

Clashing their weapons, Toby pressed his attack, swinging from left to right. But to no avail. The agent simply dodged out of the way his predictable. She even had enough time to flat out note the pattern. Left. Right. Down. Left. Duck. Back off. Repeat.

After three times, she reflected his attack with her right qatar, followed by a twirl into a roundhouse kick to his cheek, twisting his neck all the way to the side, until it pushed him off his feet, spinning and falling to the ground.

Landing back on both feet, IF dusted off her shoe before returning her gaze to the teen before her. Perhaps having overdone it, Toby laid face down on the street frozen, presumably unconscious.

"Geez. I knew you were kinda a pushover, but I never thought it would be this easy."

To everyone's surprise, Toby slowly pushed himself back on his knees, a majority of his right cheek reddened. "I… Nggh… Not, * **gasp** *, pushover!"

Stumbling on his feet, he barely managed to keep balance as he took his previous fighting stance, putting his off-hand on his back again. His fingers didn't fully grip the handle of his blade, holding it loosely and pretty half-assed. He even had his eyes half open, barely looking at IF.

Sheathing her weapons, IF declared herself victorious. "There's no point in continuing this fight. Sorry, but I'm above beating the crap out of dirty little perverts like you."

In an attempt to dash forward, Toby staggered off his feet, falling back to his knees. "Nggh… D-damn it…"

IF approached the teen and looked down in dismay. Was she really going to let this kid fight alongside them at a dangerous event such as Anarchy Arena?

"It's over, Toby. Get on your feet."

"W-wait!" Lithyum shouted, getting up from the bench. "That was just… uh… a warm-up!"

"...A warm-up? I'm pretty sure he has a concussion. If he knows what's good for him, he'll throw in the towel. Right, Toby?"

"Toby!" Lithyum continued shouting, balling a fist. "This isn't some fencing duel! This is a fight of life and death! C'mon! Let loose like we practiced!"

IF let an annoyed sigh escape her lips. "Look, I know you care about him, but I somehow highly doubt he'll-"

"Shut up…" Toby mumbled, catching IF's attention.

Getting up while leaving his blade on the ground, he softly pushed IF back a few steps. "Both of you… This isn't about Gamindustri for me… It's about what you did…"

IF raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean about what I did?"

If looks could kill, Toby's nasty glare would've obliterated IF on the spot. "You honestly don't know, do you? Don't you get it? What I've been through. What hell I have endured, just because you little shits were so desperate for a slave to clean up after you?"

The sudden tone shift didn't go unnoticed. IF narrowed her eyes, wondering where all of this was coming from. Sure, he complained about the CPUs just a little while ago, but she didn't do anything wrong, right? This was all about getting to do something 'ecchi', right?

"I-... From the day I arrived in Gamindustri, you, your friends, and every single CPU, have been driving me to my limit. You gave me home… A literal garbage dump. They gave me company. Tyrants, so self-obsessed by their own problems they forgot about the respect for an outsider like myself."

IF slightly tilted her head. "I didn't know you hated that apartment that much. But, c'mon. It couldn't have been that bad, right?"

Raising his chin to face her, Toby's eyes were reddened, tears sparkling in his eyes. "Are you fucking stupid?" he cried. " _You_ were the one who transported me to Gamindustri. You could at least give me the respect I deserve. You could-... Could at least-... Nggh.."

Making a small sniffle, Toby wiped his eyes. "There hasn't been a single day where I haven't wondered about home. About how good my life actually was. Only for some dolts like you to pull me out of it and put me through hell!"

Turning to Lithyum, he put up a faint, but fake smile. "When you kicked me out… I found someone that cared about me. Someone that-... Someone that liked me for who I am. She made me feel happy. She made me feel special… I… Lo-... I love her."

Blushing, Lithyum gazed at Toby with starry eyes. "Toby… Do you… mean that?"

Nodding before returning his gaze to IF, he gave her a determined look. Any signs of his previous exhaustion were gone like ashes to the wind. "Wind Walker of Gamindustri. If I win this duel, you will send me, Tobias Karston, back to Earth along with my girlfriend, Lithyum. If you win, I'll fight alongside you and the tyrants of Gamindustri to protect your previous dictatorships."

"Toby…"

IF was at a loss for words. Never did she think her friend felt this way about them. The fact she hadn't seen it before, as well as the fact that she was part of the problem, made her feel more than terrible. Not only had she pulled a teenager from a perfectly normal life because of their problems, but she also neglected his needs.

But she also noticed something else. Something a little more subtle. The way he talks, as well as the will to protect his as of recent girlfriend reminded her of someone else. Someone that also hates the CPUs with a burning hatred for what they did.

"... You truly are no different from Geoffrey," she mumbled. "Toby. I don't think I fully understand you, but you do know that if we don't have an eighth member by tomorrow, all of Gamindustri will-"

"To hell with Gamindustri!" Toby cried, swinging his arm from left to right. "I used to think this place was great. I used to think every single one of you were perfection incarnate, as well as your world. But now I see that this place deserves the ruination Geoffrey has brought upon it."

IF hesitantly raised her qatar again. He might be overexaggerating, considering his current mental state, but if he's not, she truly feels sorry for the boy.

"IF," Blanc shouted from the sideline. "... Kick his ass for calling me and the others tyrants."

"L-lady Blanc?"

"...What?"

"Huh?"

Blanc also got up from her resting place, looking even more livid than she did mere moments ago when Lithyum called her flat. "You think you're the only one that has problems, kid!? We've been enduring defeats from that fucking asshole for over a year now! You've been here for about a month. You have no fucking ground to stand on, you hear me?"

"Me?" Toby retorted. "Aren't you proving my point? Because apparently I have no say in the matter and just have to take it all like a brick wall!"

"We didn't need your help to start with!" Blanc yelled.

"Hey hey!" Lithyum chirped in. "You ladies called for Toby's help! That's fine and all, but maybe you shouldn't have called him if you're just going to use him for stress relief."

"Shut your pie hole, you brat! Me and the others have been giving him the respect he deserves. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Respect?" Toby questioned. "I didn't know stealing pudding from my house was a sign of respect. Or that belittling me as 'kid' was also a sign of respect in this world. Or pushing me around like a nobody. Or suffocating me for your own pleasure. Or-"

As Blanc summoned her oversized hammer from her hammerspace, she smashed it against the ground with one hand out of frustration. "Shut it, you perv! The way you talk reminds me of another head of shit from another dimension. And if you're not careful, I'll show you what I'm gonna do with him when I get my hands on his nasty little neck!"

Blanc took a single step forward but was abruptly stopped by Lithyum, holding a blade against her throat. "Take another step and your innards will decorate the streets," she threatened. The sudden tone shift from the girl made the petite CPU freeze.

Lithyum's usual cheerful look was replaced by a grimace. In one hand, she held her rapier, pressing it against the skin of the CPU. In her other hand, she was holding a long piece of rope, while her left eye gave a faint green glow, telling Blanc that the girl is capable of using magic.

Realising the situation was escalating out of control, IF decided to finally take action. "Everyone, STOP! That's enough! Toby. We can resolve all of this after Anarchy Arena is done. I promise. We'll sit down, have a nice cup of tea, and we'll talk this over like adults. Alright?"

Toby, in no mood for tea and cake, shook his head. "How about you stick to your guns and fight me. Let's see which one of us is the 'kid' after I've shown you what I can really do."

Blanc pushed Lithyum's blade away and raised her hammer to both her and Toby. "As if I'll let you have your way. You dare disrespect us and then demand a duel? That's some balls you got there kid. Allow me to crush them for you."

Lithyum swiftly jumped backwards, landing right beside Toby. "CPU or not, I'll stand beside Toby. If what he says is true, then each of you and all of your people deserve the shitty situation you're in."

As if she was the only rational person left, IF lowered her weapons and tried to calm everyone down. "Everyone, please! This is between me and Toby! Lady Blanc. Lihty-... Miss Lithyum. Please, stay out of this."

"What? IF, you can't be serious? You're just gonna give this kid his way?"

"Lady Blanc. I promise, this is just… Something I need to do myself. Could you please stay out of this?"

Blanc wasn't pleased with IF's request. But when she withdrew her hammer, she turned back to the bench and sat down again. "Fine. Whatever. But you better kick his teeth in for me."

Lithyum, seeing Blanc back off, also backed off and sat back down on the far opposite side of Blanc's bench. "You just afraid to get your stupid butt kicked by a cute girl like myself."

IF, releasing a sigh of relief, got back in her fighting stance. She was fully aware that this fight wasn't about Gamindustri or Anarchy Arena anymore. It was a personal fight. And whoever wins, it will forever change the relationship between all of them.

Seeing Blanc's reaction from earlier gave the agent mixed feelings about this. While Blanc was right, that being that they've been through more, it indeed does not justify the way they've been acting towards Toby. But on the other hand, Toby is overreacting a little bit. Who is even right in this situation?

But whatever the case may be, that didn't mean she would hold back anything. Rather, she would go all out and take this fight seriously. No more fancy moves or showing off. No more taunting. IF was about to show him the respect he deserved.

"Toby... No… Tobias. I agree to your terms. If you win this fight, I'll ask Histoire to return you to your own dimension."

Stomping his foot against the handle of his blade, he sent it up and caught it with his right hand. "You just dug your own grave, agent."

Expecting him to take his usual stance, IF was surprised when Toby slightly bent through his knees and held his rapier forward like a normal blade. He didn't even put his off-hand on his back like he usually does. "I'll show what I've learnt. From you, Gamindustri, Lithyum, but mostly from myself!"

Without wasting any time, Toby dashed forward, even faster than before. Instead of a lunge, he raised his blade, ready to swing down on her, but IF crossed her blades and blocked the hit, not expecting the amount of force that would impact on them.

Pulling back, Toby quickly translated IF's surprise into a quick left hook. Unable to block, she felt Toby crack his knuckles against her temple.

The blow did little damage to IF. Getting as close as possible, she wrapped her arms around his waist and lifted him off his feet, before suplexing him over her head, right on his drop made Toby groan for a brief moment, but did very little in keeping him down, as he quickly rolled back on his feet like it wasn't even slightly painful.

Relentlessly, Toby lunged forward once more. IF, barely having recovered from her previous attack, parried his attack just in the nick of time, pushing his blade to the side and attempted to get an attack in of her own.

"Gotcha," Toby hissed through his gritted teeth, quickly pushing the handle of his blade against IF's offending qatar. Turning his blade, he forced IF's arm to twist outward.

Curling his fist, Toby delivered a solid punch to IF's chin. With her arm pressured, the impact made her drop her qatar.

Dashing forward once more, Toby gave the girl very little breathing space. Swinging his blade in a rather non-systematic way, IF couldn't manage to return any blows, being left to either take a hit or block his incoming slashes.

Desperately making a full powered horizontal swing, IF scratched the teen's chest, pushing him back slightly, allowing her to back off. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Closing her eyes, a faint red light glowed from inside her unarmed hand. Toby remembered this skill. He had seen it in the games plenty of times.

"Take this! Demon Flame!"

A ring of fire encircled the fencer. Quickly jumping towards IF, he avoided the magical pillar of flames with ease.

With IF wide open, Toby too closed his eyes. "This is Lithyum's best move!"

The steel rapier he was holding gave a faint blue glow. Pulling back, Toby shouted his attack as he made a lunge forward. "Star Duster!"

The glow intensified and shaped like itself like the rapier, extending its reach.

Unable to dodge, IF felt the attack pierce her, pushing her off her feet into the wall behind her.

When she fell down on her rear, an agonising pain spread through all of her body from her stomach.

She attempted to open her eyes. Her vision was blurry. She could just make out her hand before her.

Rubbing the area the pain was coming from, she checked her hand again for blood.

Her eyes widened as she saw her hand stained with a red, warm liquid.

"W-what the hell… When did you-… Why did you-... Toby…"

With a numbed mind, IF's breathing became heavy. The pain being the only thing keeping her from fainting, she relaxed herself. There was no way she would even think about standing up right now.

A bone-chilling cold pressed against her chin. She opened her eyes and looked up. "A loser… Is you, IF," Toby declared, pushing his blade against her throat.

A mix of confusion as well as worry filled IF. Is Toby really going to finish her? Why was Blanc not helping her out?

She slowly turned her head to the bench the two brunettes were sitting on. Blanc was completely tied up by the rope Lithyum was holding. With its greenish glow, it kept the CPU well in place.

"No divine intervention," Lithyum said with a nod, holding on to the rope.

The agent shakily raised her hand. "W-wait! Toby… You're not gonna-..."

"I'm not a murderer. Not a human killer, at least. But you. To me you're just an egocentric, primitive beast. Only thinking of its own struggle to survive."

"Then… Let me go… Please. I'll talk to-... Hi-Histoire. She'll-"

"She won't let me go back. If anything, she'll force me to fight alongside you at Anarchy Arena. After all, she too only wishes the best for Gamindustri."

IF forced a faint smile, a drop of blood leaving her mouth as she did. "You'd go as far as reducing our number to six just so you can go back home?"

Toby nodded. "I don't want to do this, IF. But you and every single one of you deserve everything you've got coming to you."

"Spoken like a true villain…"

Doubting himself, Toby pulled his blade back a little. "I… I… Just want to go home, damn it. Live my mundane life in peace."

IF coughed a few times as she let out a weak laugh. "Oh, I'll bring you peace. Just you wait."

Taking her chance, IF knocked Toby's blade aside and jumped him, the pain in her stomach crying for her to stop.

Pushing Toby to the ground, she drew her remaining qatar and held it in both hands, raising it above her head.

IF brought it down at an alarming speed, but Toby managed to catch it in one hand, right before it could pierce his forehead.

Putting one hand on the butt of her blade, she applied even more force to it.

Struggling to stay alive, Toby felt the steel just inching closer, just mere millimetres away from his skin.

"Toby!" Lithyum cried, letting go of the rope and running to his aid.

"Oh no you don't!" Blanc yelled, freeing herself and firing a bolt of ice and the girl's back, knocking her down. "End it, IF!"

The words fell to deaf ears. IF had already long forgotten about Blanc or Lithyum. All that mattered now was taking Toby down.

Gritted teeth and clenched eyes, Toby did his best to resist IF. But she felt his grasp weakening, giving in to her assault. Time to finish this.

"Now!" IF shouted, pulling the qatar back up, releasing it from Toby's grip, before bringing it back down.

"STOP!" a girlish voice cried.

Recognising the voice, IF stopped dead in her tracks like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

She turned to the one who called her. There stood Nepgear, covering her eyes with her hands. Just for how long had she been standing there?

"No! NO! Not again! Please stop! I don't want to lose another friend!"

Peeking through her fingers, Nepgear rushed to both IF and Toby when she saw the two had stopped fighting. "What the goodness? Why are you two fighting? You said you were just going to go get Toby back!"

Pushing IF off him, Toby brought himself to a sitting position. "Nepgear… It's a-, uh, long story… Ow," he moaned, putting his hand on the large running across his chest.

"Toby… Is that blood? IF? What happened to your belly? Goodness, no! I'll call Compa right away. Just hang in there."

Nepgear took her N-Gear from her hammerspace and did as she said she would. Meanwhile, Toby and IF exchanged a look of dismay before avoiding each other's gaze again.

IF gritted her teeth as the previous pain from her stomach suddenly returned, covering it with both hands. Just what exactly was that move he just did? It looked so familiar. In fact, she has seen the move plenty of times before. A long time ago. It was the same move as…

Glimpsing at Lithyum, who was hugging her boyfriend carefully, IF was left wondering. " _Just who is this girl?_ "

* * *

"There. All patched up," Compa happily chirped, applying the last bandage to Toby's chest. "You two better not be trashing each other again, or I'll give you two a nasty bump on your head."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever," Toby mumbled while IF let out a 'hmph' of disapproval.

After Compa arrived, she settled the two closely beside each other on the nearest bench. To patch them up, she had to take off a few pieces of clothing, but it wasn't a huge problem, as Nepgear made sure neither Toby nor IF would be peeping on each other. The thought didn't even cross either's mind. They hadn't even looked each other in the eyes after Compa began patching them up.

While this was going on, both Blanc and Lithyum were standing off to the side. Neither of them wanted to get involved on this.

"Are you done, Compa?" Nepgear politely asked.

"Yup. They should both be as fresh as a fairy now."

"Whew. Thanks Compa. I knew I could count on you. Say thanks, you two."

Once again, both IF and Toby simply let out a groan, averting each other's, as well as Compa's.

Nepgear wasn't sure how to react to this. It somewhat reminded her of a young Peashy and a young IF from the Ultradimension. They also sometimes got into a fight after which they would pout like this. But perhaps talking this over would at least solve things somewhat?

"Uh… So why were you two fighting?" Nepgear hesitantly asked.

Right when the words left her mouth, Blanc, Lithyum, Toby and IF all started shouting different things, arguing about how the fight even started.

"E-everyone, please stop! One at the time or we'll never get this over with. Uhh… IF, why don't you go first?"

"Why does she get to go first?" Toby rudely asked.

"Because of personal preference. Duh," Lithyum responded.

Nepgear sheepishly waved her hands before her. "W-what? N-no! That's not it! I was just-, uh… Well, why don't you go first then, Toby?"

"Oh, so because the dog barks he gets a bone, huh?" Blanc commented. "Sure, why don't you go ahead and make us look like the tyrants we are."

"Eh? Well, I mean-"

"Yeah! You told me to go first, so why not let me go first?" IF added.

"Hey! First come, first serve," Toby interjected. "I asked first, I get to go first."

With her previous violent tendencies, Blanc already drew her hammer again and held it firmly. "Yeah, how about no? Wanna fight for it or something?"

Toby grunted as he shot up from his seat as he and his girlfriend both drew their blades.

"Toby ain't afraid of your _flat_ threats," Lithyum taunted.

Once again, everyone ended up shouting at each other, waving their weapons around in a somewhat threatening fashion.

At this rate, they would end up just killing each other again.

It was then that something in Nepgear snapped. "Everyone… S-... STOP!"

Nepgear's outburst caught everyone's attention. "Just look at yourselves. I don't know what each of you are fighting over to start with… But we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves in the first place."

She first turned to her childhood friend, IF. "It's not like you to just burst out in anger for no reason, IF. Before I ask Toby what happened, please, tell me your side of the story."

The previous outburst seemed to have calmed everyone down. Each of them looked at Nepgear quite calmly. It seemed like they were finally willing to listen to each other.

"R-right. It's just-... Hm. Alright. Blanc and I were going to get Toby back, but he refused our offer, claiming we've been treating him like trash. Then the girl in green over there, Lithyum, proposed we had a duel. If Toby lost, he would join us. If I lost I had to-, err… I had to do something."

Nepgear quickly glanced at both Toby and Lithyum. Neither of them seemed displeased with IF's recap so far.

"So I agreed, and, well, I admit, I may have overdone it and Toby kind of snapped and told me how we made his life an actual hell."

With raised eyebrows, Nepgear turned to the teen. "Toby. Is this true?"

"I mean, it's not untrue…"

"I see… And then the fight escalated from there on out. Thank you IF, I think I understand now. Toby, could you perhaps tell us what exactly has been bothering you?"

"Well, I, uh… Uhh… S-sure." The teen quickly passed his sight over each of the girls around him. He almost looked a little shy, having five girls stare at him, listening to his every word.

"Well, my issue with you girls is that… Well, I should start at the beginning. Firstly, you just pull me out of my mundane life and ask me to be some kind of hero. Disclaimer, never before have I done anything heroic or anything. I just have a hobby that relates to duelling people. That's about it. Then when I get here, IF gives me a garbage dump to live in."

From his unsure tone, he slowly shifted to a more irritated one. "Then, when I think everything is going to get better after we rescued Blanc and the others, I get dumped with her, tossed over her shoulder, only to be carried back to Planeptune like a sack of potatoes. Except unlike a sack of potassium, I get yelled at for perving on her even though I really wasn't."

The teen's tone grew even more hateful. " _Then_ when we get back, everything just goes from bad to worse. Neptune starts _stealing_ from me, raiding my fridge at any given chance. Noire starts pulling me along for quests so she doesn't have to do anything, Vert suffocated me for some unexplainable reason and then IF has the guts to kick me out of the party."

Toby balled a fist and made a pretty mean frown to IF. "I've been working my ass off for each of you, risking my life and you have the guts to toss me out like I mean nothing? I think you can see why I want to go home now, no?"

Blanc shook her head. All of her anger had been replaced by a more calm posture. "Look, we already got it. But for the last time, if we don't have another member by tomorrow, who knows what will happen to Rom and Ram."

"Rom and Ram?" Lithyum questioned. "The CPU candidates of Lowee? What about them?"

"They… were captured. And if we don't fight in this fu-... this Anarchy Arena thing, who knows what those crooks of ASIC will do."

From where she was standing, Nepgear could just make out a single tear in the corner of Blanc's eye.

"I-... I can't imagine what Noire is going through. But knowing that the same might happen to Rom and Ram… It… It eats at you, you know?"

Toby tilted his head. "Noire? Wait… What happened to Uni?"

Dropping the candidate's name proved to be a fatal mistake by the teen. The simple mention of her name filled Nepgear's thoughts of her best friend. "Uni… She's… Uni is no longer with us."

An awkward silence, lasting nearly an eternity, befell the group. Lithyum cuddled up against Toby's arm; IF and Blanc looked down. Even Compa, which had been watching the entire thing quietly felt somewhat bad. The silence wasn't broken until Nepgear spoke up again.

"But… Those are the things of the past. Uni would never have wanted us to feel so down about her. Toby. I understand you felt used by us. Perhaps we did use you as a tool or even as a slave to solve our problems. I understand if you want to go home. I'll be sure to ask Histoire later."

"..."

"IF, Toby obviously didn't mean to hurt you. All he wanted was to go home and live his life without any of our burdens. We have no right to keep him here if he wants to go home. Not only that, but he also simply felt belittled by our us. It's only fair for us to allow him to return to his own dimension after all of this."

The agent listened to every word her friend spoke, but in the end, she held her hand up, gesturing her to stop. Getting up, she faced Toby once more, still holding one hand on her injury. "Toby. I think you can tell that this whole consulting thing by Nepgear is not gonna cut it. Let's get real for a second here, 'kay?"

With a hostile frown, Toby looked the agent in the eyes. "Tsk. Well what do you propose then? I think you know pretty damn well I'm not going to be your little puppet anymore."

Reaching into her coat, IF took out her guild card. Different from Toby's, the plastic card had a deep purple colour with a silver-ish edge. Along the many titles and levels IF had earned over the years, there was also an official seal of Planeptune in the corner, signed by Purple Heart herself, indicating that this card belonged to one of the few elites of Planeptune's guild. The seal alone gave the card's owner authority over the citizens of the nation.

"Your guild card?" Toby asked, giving it a quick read.

Clearing her throat, IF half rolled her eyes. "Agent IF from the Guild of Planeptune. On behalf of Planeptune, I request you aid us in the upcoming fight of Anarchy Arena. In trade, I shall request of the oracle of Planeptune, lady Histoire, to return you to your respective dimension along with your girlfriend, lady Lithyum."

Toby responded with silence. The official request was certainly something IF wouldn't just pull out willy nilly. She's serious about this. "Do you accept our terms?"

While Lithyum whispered something among the lines of 'so that's where this chapter's title came from', Toby crossed his arms and considered his options.

"So I guess you also tried to kill me on behalf of Planeptune."

IF clicked her tongue in annoyance. "This isn't a friend request, Toby. I'm asking you because we're out of time. I would've taken just about anyone else. But as it stands, I'm stuck with you," she explained, extending her hand. "Do you accept our terms?"

Toby looked to his side at his girlfriend. After she gave a confirming thumbs up, Toby took her hand and shook it. "I can live with those terms. I can handle one more day of you bossing me around," Toby nodded towards Blanc when he mentioned the bossing around. In response, Blanc averted her gaze with a sour expression.

"Then that settles it," IF declared. "Now that our deal has been verbally confirmed, you are legally obligated to-"

"Please!" Toby interrupted. "Speak English. I don't care for the official stuff."

"... Sign a contract and you're free to go until tomorrow night when we'll need you for Anarchy Arena."

"Was that so hard to say?"

IF shrugged. "Well, obviously I don't have the papers at the ready. So we're going to make a detour past the Basilicom."

"Fine by me."

With that, the three brunettes and Toby headed off to the Basilicom to finish their business, leaving both Nepgear and Compa behind.

"Uhh… C-can I speak up now?" Compa timidly asked. "I'm not too good with the serious stuff."

Nepgear sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "Goodness… I guess I still messed up after all. I-... I don't like the way Toby and IF treat each other. They used to be so close."

Compa recognised the way her friend talked. She'd always get in a depressive mood once things go wrong for her. "Ge-Ge, don't worry about it too much," the nurse reassured, placing her hand on her shoulder. "I think you did just fine, Ge-Ge. Iffy always stands up for herself. Even when you're trying to help her. All things considered, I think it went pretty well."

"I hope so. Tomorrow is a big day… Compa. Can I come sleep over at your place? I think we should give those four some breathing space."

"Sure. We can have some yummy tea and cake later too if you want."

Faintly smiling, Nepgear walked forward, the nurse following closely behind her. "I'd love that. Thanks, Compa."

"Don't mention it. I know you've been going through a very rough time, Ge-Ge."

Compa didn't intent on it, but her last comment put Nepgear on a train of thought again. A rough time. Neptune's unexplainable disease, Uni's death, the fight between IF and Toby, Anarchy Arena, Rom and Ram, everything was simply becoming nearly too much.

" _I just hope no one gets seriously hurt tomorrow,"_ Nepgear thought.

* * *

 **Good thing Compa's magical bandages can heal any injury within mere seconds.**

 **Hey everyone, thanks for reading. Before I end this off, I simply want to address one final thing to the keen readers among you. One of Toby's lines from the previous chapter was 'I don't know any special moves of my own', yet he uses a special move as his ace. So what did he really mean?... Well, it wasn't really _his_ to start with. Just wait until next chapter for me to explain before you review on that bit.**

 **Have a nice day!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Panic Attack

**Chapter 11: Panic Attack**

"... Hmm… Mmm…. Hm?"

Toby slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself into a sitting position. He was back in Lithyum's bed, a throbbing headache pounding in the back of his head.

"Why can't I remember anything from yesterday?" Toby questioned, kicking the blanket away and getting out of the bed.

Looking into the mirror, he saw a teen with a few bandages wrapped around his torso and a single Band-Aid on his left cheek. " _Right… I think I almost killed IF. And then Nepgear and Compa came along. After that we argued a bit. Then I made some sort of deal with IF and… uhh… And from there on I can't seem to remember anything. I guess I should go ask Lithyum if she knows anything about what happened._ "

As he headed downstairs, a familiar yet pleasing smell filled his lungs. The refreshing fragrance of flowers. Specifically that of the lily: Lithyum's favourite bloom. Toby always thought she keeps a few too many around the house, but coming home to something this welcoming is probably worth the effort of keeping them all.

Lithyum, packing several bottles of medicine along with a few beverages into her inventory as she moved about in the kitchen, was humming to herself.

Toby cleared his throat, catching her attention. "Hm? Whoa! Good afternoon, Toby. Did you rest well? Was the bed comfortable? You didn't wet it, did you?"

"Yeah, I thi-... Wait, what? No. Of course I didn't wet your bed. Why would you… Never mind. Look. I'm still a bit roughed up from yesterday. Can I just ask you something?"

The girl slightly tilted her head and poked her lips. "Hum. That's funny. I was about to ask you something too. But you can go first. What is it?"

"Right… So, like I said, I'm still a little light headed. What exactly happened yesterday?"

Lithyum simply blinked at him a few times. "For real? Dude. Did you really forget like everything that you did? I mean, you were so cool and all."

"I didn't exactly forget everything. But give me a full recap anyway."

Rolling her eyes, Lithyum began her summary. "Riiight. So, we did some questing, went to the arcade afterwards and ran into a cute flat brunette. Then some other flat brunette from your previous party invited you back in, but you refused for some reason and then I suggested you two had a duel. During the duel you also totally confessed to me and stuff, by the way. Just a little detail."

"So far nothing I don't remember," Toby shrugged.

"But after that, another cute girl with lilac hair came by and calmed everyone down. Then the brunette in the blue coat was like 'I'm super official and I'll set up a contract you'll have to sign with your blood so you have to fight in Anarchy Arena because I don't have anyone else to help me' or something."

"I somehow doubt that's what actually happened," Toby sweatdropped.

"But it is!" Lithyum exclaimed, stomping forward. "You totally signed a contract which stated that you'll fight in Anarchy Arena. In return they'll let you and me go to your dimension."

Chuckling a little, Toby folded his arms. "Alright, very funny. Tell me, what did I actually sign that contract for?"

With a pouty face, Lithyum reached into her inventory and took out a piece of paper. It was the contract from yesterday. "Hmph. See for yourself then, mister Orange Unbelieve."

Skimming through the contract, Toby felt his face going pale. " _I, Tobias Karston, will serve the four goddesses temporarily in the battle of Anarchy Arena. In return, the oracle of Planeptune, lady Histoire, will allow us, Tobias Karston and Lithyum Bel-uhh, to open an interdimensional gate that will return us both to the original home world of Tobias Karston…_ What the actual-, no no. This has to be a mistake. I wasn't _that_ tired that I would agree to something this suicidal, right?"

"Eh? Toby? Are you okay? You look like you've just seen the ghost of a long-deceased woman."

Taking a nearby chair, Toby dropped himself on it and leaned on the kitchen table. "Uuhhh… I think I just signed my own death warrant."

"Nonsense. You've been training with yours truly non-stop. There's no way a few thugs from ASIC are going to get to you," Lithyum reassured, putting her soft hand on her boyfriend's neck, slowly moving it up and down. As the warmth spread from his back through his entire body, it helped clear Toby's mind.

"Besides," Lithyum continued, "I thought you wanted to fight in Anarchy Arena. That's why you were upset, right?"

While her words were simply an honest question, it made Toby feel rather irritated. "... Well, no. That's not really it, honestly…"

For some reason, Toby wanted to avoid the subject. He didn't understand why, though. It was something he complained to her about many times before. What was so different about it this time? "It's nothing, really."

"C'mon. I haven't seen you this down since I met you," Lithyum declared. "Something must be bugging you."

"I told you. It's nothing. Honestly."

His words did little to convince her. Pushing him to the edge of his seat, Lithyum sat down beside him on his chair. "Toby. What's bugging you?" She asked as she took two drinks from her hammerspace.

"... Ugh. Fine." Toby took one of the drinks and removed the cap. "I-... I don't know what's bugging me."

"You don't know?"

"Yeah… I mean, now that I really think about it, I was more than happy to have been kicked out. I was pretty scared to fight in that event after I heard how gruelling ASIC could be. But… Well, this is going to sound weird, but I don't know why I felt so insulted. I know she did it for my own safety. I know she didn't mean it like that, yet I got worked up because of it and I don't know why."

As Toby looked down, Lithyum retracted her hand from his back and instead carefully wrapped it around his hand. "Maybe we should go back to that night. Tell me. When IF came to visit you that night, how did you feel?"

With raised eyebrows, Toby pulled his hand back close to his chest. "Y-yeah, I, uh, I just realised we're, uh-"

Forcefully grabbing Toby's hand again, Lithyum stared deep into the teen's eyes. "Toby. Just focus. How did you feel that night? If you're feeling uneasy talking about this, it must mean there's something behind this."

"Well… I… I was happy when IF came over that night. Also a little angry, as I used to live in a junkyard, which was her fault."

With hopeful eyes, Lithyum inched a little closer. "What did she tell you back then?"

Toby's grip around his drink and Lithyum's hand tightened. "She told me I was weak. Incompetent. A failure of a hero. They pulled me from my dimension to turn this ruination back around, yet they drop me out like I mean nothing to them."

Lithyum's jaw slightly dropped, seemingly realising something. "... So what stung more?"

"Huh?"

"When IF explained to you that you were weak, what was it that hurt more? The truth or the fact she recognised it?"

"I'm not sure I follow," Toby said, shaking his head narrow-eyed.

"When you fought IF, your main point to her seemed to be not getting the respect you deserve. The fact she didn't recognise you as another human-being with needs. Yet your demands were very selfish. Almost hateful. I don't think you ever wanted to return home, really."

Toby's grip around his drink tightened even more, creating a dent in the aluminium can. When he thought about it, what she said did feel right. Somehow, the girl before him understood his feeling more than he did.

"All you wanted was some respect from the girls you admired the most." Lithyum continued. "And you hoped to get it by showing them their error and spite them with their mistakes. Toby. I think all you ever wanted was for them to like you."

At a loss for words, Toby could only stare at the girl in disbelief. Nearly an entire minute passed before he could bring himself to respond. "How… Did you know?"

Letting go of his hand, Lithyum got up and returned to the kitchen, packing even more drinks. "I suppose you remind me of someone that used to be dear to me. While he didn't exactly want to be friends with everyone, he too did all kinds of horrible things to spite his friends. Just to show them how wrong they were."

"I see… And, uh, this friend of yours. What happened to him?"

Lithyum's packing slowed down until she froze completely. "A grudge built up inside of him and he went down a very dark path. He's already dead… To me. But… I don't want to see you end up like him."

Nodding softly, Toby lowered his gaze. "So what you're saying is that all the resentment and anger I'm feeling to them is just me wanting their acceptance?"

"I suppose you could say it like that," Lithyum giggled. "And when they didn't give it to you in the way you expected, you started to hate them for it. I'm not saying that what they did was right, but really, confessing your love to another girl infront of her might be a little extreme. I totally ship you with IF, by the by."

"W-wait, what?" Toby stuttered. "You're not saying that I don't-... I… I really, love you, Lithyum and I… I-"

"-Only confessed my love to you to spite IF? C'mon. I can tell. You get mega uncomfortable when I press my boobs against you. You change the subject when I flirt with you. And to top it all off, we've only known each other for so long. I'm sure you don't have a crush on me. Plus, you and IF go quite far back from what I can tell. I think you've known her for much longer than you're letting on, am I right?"

Scratching the back of his head, Toby was reminded of the fact that he had indeed known IF longer than she had known him. But that's probably not what she was implying. "Well, you're half right," Toby responded. "But-"

"It's fine, Toby. It was simply foolish of me. That I didn't see this earlier."

Having finished packing the drinks, Lithyum closed the fridge and made her way to the front door, gesturing her friend to follow her. "But enough about me. We need to make our leave for Tari. The CPUs are expecting you in less than two hours to meet them at the local CPU hotel. You'll have plenty of time to clear your mind on the road."

"W-wait!" Toby got up from his seat and grabbed Lithyum by her wrist. "Look. I'm not saying you're right, but… Well… We can still be friends, right?"

Lithyum blinked at him a few times before she smiled at him. "The bestest of buddies. But c'mon. We really have to go."

As she pulled the teen along, Toby wondered what Lithyum's opinion on all of this truly was. " _I don't get it,_ " he thought. " _She looks so neutral about all of this. Just what exactly do you think about all of this? Or… Maybe it's not a big deal. Maybe it's just me. That might be it._ "

* * *

The road was rather uneventful. While Lithyum had decided to stay quiet, it gave Toby a lot of time to think about everything that was being forced on to him. His hasty decision to fight in Anarchy Arena, Lithyum rejecting him, the way he really felt about getting kicked out of the party by IF and finally, whether or not he was actually ready to fight people to the death in the upcoming event.

With the deadline being just around the corner, it was about time he made up his mind. But everything being thrown at him at once, he almost felt like he was simply trapped in the middle of a conflict zone. If you choose one way, you'll get shot from another.

As the sun began to set again, the duo finally arrived at the gate of Tari. With a single soldier, wearing an old styled uniform, Tari didn't look as protected as Toby always imagined. He always thought there would be at least a dozen soldiers patrolling around the front gates, with sniper towers overlooking the area. Yet there was just a single gatekeeper, holding a simple spear, greeting them and welcoming them to Tari.

Once inside, Toby stood before an even bigger surprise. The architecture of the city was plain and simple. Most of the buildings were squarely shaped and mostly black. The atmosphere, however, felt very party-like. With the many bright, flashing lights and neon signs with pixelated fonts, it felt more like a funfair or an arcade than an actual nation.

In fact, no matter where you looked, there was always an arcade of some sort wedged between the shops.

With a mesmerized expression, Toby admired the city around him in awe. If he had to describe it all in a few words, it'd be a mix between cyberpunk and retro.

"Welcome to Tari," Lithyum said, tugging his sleeve. "Stay away from the Pixelvaders that infest the nation's skies and don't look down the alleyways… You're not old enough for what's down there."

As a response, Toby said the first thing that came to his mind. "Whoa. This place is… Amazing. It sure beats Planeptune with all the destroyed tech… It also feels a little darker here, don't you think?"

"Eh. I think Planeptune is a little better. Before it all got destroyed, obviously. But I don't think you've ever seen it like that before, so fair enough."

"So… Which way to the CPU Hotel?" Toby asked as he opened the navigator app of his watch.

"It's probably somewhere near the Basilicom. But I have no idea where to find that one either. So... "

"Don't sweat it. Siri-, I uh, I mean my watch has already found it. So let's just go, shall we?"

Toby was about to move on when he felt Lithyum tug his sleeve again. Looking back at the girl, he turned to face her. "Actually," Lithyum hesitantly began, "I bought a set of tickets for Anarchy Arena, remember? Sorry, but I can't come with you. I need to go straight to Mac-Maze Arena, or they won't let me in anymore. And I'm pretty sure it's the other way."

"O-oh… I, uh, I see."

The two awkwardly looked each other over, as if it was the last time they'd see each other again. Feeling like a soldier saying goodbye to its family, Toby struggled to simply turn around and say goodbye. "Well… I, uh… I should be going the-"

Suddenly, Lithyum jumped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face against his chest. Not sure how to react, Toby slowly put his arms around her shoulders and hugged her back.

Minutes passed as onlookers walking by gave them looks. Some of them couldn't help and go 'aww', while others simply raised their eyebrows.

As Lithyum finally pushed back, she looked Toby into his eyes once more. "Whatever happens, just stay alive, alright? You didn't come this far to die, okay?"

Exhaling, Toby forced a smile on his face. "C'mon. Weren't you the one that told I'm ready for this?"

"Yesterday's coward becomes tomorrow's hero, huh," Lithyum mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I'm just going to go now. I'll be cheering you on, alright?"

"Right. Until then."

With a nod, Lithyum turned around and walked down one of the many alleys, blending in with the crowd like a drop in the sea.

The teen couldn't help but look in the general direction for some time. Why does it feel like this is the last time he'll ever see her? Will he really make it out alive?

Toby was abruptly knocked out of his trance when a tall, muscular man bumped into him and nearly knocked him over. "Hey! Watch where you're going, kid," the man accused.

"Err… S-sorry!"

As Toby apologized, the man had already turned his back to him and kept on walking.

Looking one last time in Lithyum's general direction, Toby scratched the back of his head. "I should probably get going. The others are waiting for me."

* * *

 **BGM: Mall 3 - Dead Rising**

Stepping inside the building, Toby looked around. To his left were a few cyan couches encircling a simple coffee table and to his right was a fancy fountain with a small statue of Rei in the middle, water spurting from her marble mouth. How quaint. Right before him was a counter with a clerk behind it. It appeared to be just your typical hotel lobby. "I suppose a CPU Hotel really is just a hotel for CPUs, huh. Hey Siri, are you sure this is the right place?"

His watch made a single bleep before responding. " _Calculating current location… Calibrating… Scanning… Calculation complete. Current location: Tari - CPU Hotel._ "

"Looks a bit ordinair for a hotel meant for goddesses, don't you think?"

" _Negative. As you know, I am Guild-View v1.07. I am unable to observe or comprehend for myself. Therefore I cannot see anything or think for myself."_

"... Why didn't they patch out your sassiness with the last patch? Ugh. Whatever."

Approaching the counter, the teen cleared his throat. "Ahem. Excuse me. But I'm here to meet someone."

The young looking woman behind the counter looked up from her work, her dark blonde hair covering one of her sapphire blue eyes. Her face kind of reminded him of someone, but Toby couldn't put his finger on it. "Certainly. May I have your name, please?" she asked in a monotone voice.

"Tobias Karston."

Quietly, the clerk skimmed through the book before her. "I deeply apologize, sir. But it appears none of our guests are expecting you. There is a name similar to yours in here. Are you identified under any other aliases?"

"Oh… Uh… Toby?"

With a neutral expression, the woman closed her book and rang the hotel bell beside her. "The CPUs of the four nations have been expecting you. Please, follow our bellhop to your destined room."

The bellhop looked identical to the clerk — save for the uniform. "Please, follow me," she spoke in the same monotone voice.

Toby's eyes altered between the clerk and the bellhop. They looked exactly the same. Same face. Same hair colour. Same eyes. Everything. They must be twins or something. "R-right…"

On the way, Toby passed a few more employees of the hotel. And surprisingly, each of them looked the same way as the clerk and the bellhop. It got even stranger when Toby read their name tags. For starters, the bellhop's tag read 'Hi, I'm #7659 - Pleased to meet you'. Are all of these girls clones or something?

It would probably be for the best to ask someone he knows, rather than any of the staff. Each of these identical women creep the heck out of him.

When they reached the elevator, the bellhop called it and calmly gave Toby some directions. "Your meeting takes place in room 401 on the fourth floor. Please, head to the fourth floor."

"Uh… Thanks."

Stepping inside, Toby closed the doors. As his finger hovered over the many buttons, Toby inched back a little as he looked at the number pad. Despite there being only four floors up, there seemed to be about twenty floors going down. Pressing the button with the blue four on it, he grunted. "... I don't like this place. Tari really is giving me the creeps."

As the elevator went up, it slowly dawned on him what he was getting himself into. Even if it felt like an eternity for the elevator to reach the top floor, with each passing floor, he felt more and more anxious.

 **BGM end**

Reaching the top floor, Toby stepped into the hallway and made his way to room 401, which didn't prove to be much of a hassle, considering it was pretty much the only room on the entire floor.

The teen raised his fist to knock on the door but hesitated for a moment. Once he goes through that door, he'll be forced to see eye to eye with everyone once more. And _if_ that goes well, he'll be forced to fight for his life in some roman-styled circus on a team that probably won't back him up at all.

Looking over his shoulder, he noticed the elevator doors hadn't closed yet. It wasn't too late to simply walk away and never get involved with any of the CPUs anymore. Sure, it might mean the end of Gamindustri, but if Mister Lance really is here in Tari, perhaps he could find him and ask him kindly to return him to earth. It would be worth a shot, compared to a guaranteed death.

"... _Damn it. Now I'm doubting myself,_ " Toby thought. With the choice at hand, it was a tough call to make. Break his promise with IF and Histoire and be a selfish prick. Or Knock on the door before him and probably die a hero. Emphasis on the dying part.

Scratching his temple, Toby considered both options. " _If this were a game, I'd probably knock on the door and get a good ending. But let's not forget that this is probably not a game… Or I think, at least. I'm still a little uncertain about that bit… A little. Anyway, turning around would probably get me a bad ending, but at least I get to live. So… Well, considering I like being alive, the choice should be obvious, right? Right?"_

Taking a few steps back, Toby turned his back on the door and stepped back into the elevator, his finger hovering over the button to close the doors.

That's it. All he had to do now was press that button and simply walk away, find mister Lance and ask him to return him to Earth. After that, he'd never have to be involved with any of the CPUs at all. Prevention is the medicine after all.

His hands were shaking with uncertainty. The choice seemed so simple on paper, yet when you're the one actually making it, you feel like whatever you do would mean the end of the world.

"D-damn it. There is no right choice here, is there?"

Pulling his hand back again, his breathing got heavy. Was it always this hot in here?

" _Alright. C-calm down, Toby. Just… Just… Just think about it for a second. Just relax and…I think I need to lay down for a second."_

Suddenly, his legs felt like they had turned into jelly. As gravity got the better of him, Toby dropped to the floor with his back against the wall.

"Oh man… I don't think I can do this…"

"Can't do what?" A calm voice asked.

Jumping, Toby gasped for air as he looked up. Before him suddenly stood Blanc, looking down on him with a look of pity. "B-Blanc!? When did you-"

"I was reading a light novel and heard some commotion coming from outside. It really pulled me out of the flow, so I decided to give whoever was causing it an earful."

Swallowing the bile that had formed on the back of his throat, Toby quickly raised himself to his feet. "R-right. Sorry. I was, uhh, just… You know… I'll just… Just go now."

Toby was about to press the elevator's button, but Blanc grabbed his hand. "You haven't forgotten why you came here in the first place, have you?"

"Well, I… Hm…"

"Hm?... Say, you don't look so well. Maybe you should just rest for a bit."

"Wha? N-no. I'm fine. It's nothing. Honestly."

Blanc raised her eyebrow as she put her hand on his forehead. "Hmm… I mean, if you say so. But if you are feeling ill, perhaps you want to come inside and rest for a bit. We still have time before the others will return."

"..."

If there ever was a choice before, there certainly was one now. He could lie in Blanc's face and still get out.

Or perhaps he could just be honest and lay down on a couch inside.

No matter which one he would pick, he had to choose now.

"... Actually, I think I'll just have to lie down for a second," Toby admitted. "Mind if I come in?"

Shrugging, Blanc turned her back to the teen. "Sure. Make yourself at home. Just be quiet"

Toby followed the girl inside, his choice creating a long, perilous path for him to go down.

* * *

 **Aaaand… Yeah, this took me over five weeks. Awkward.**

 **Hey everyone. Sorry for the gap between this chapter and the last. There have been a few things going on behind closed doors, so to say. I'm not sure if the next chapter will be released any time soon, but at least the story won't be dead. That's something.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all understand my choice of taking this at my own pace. So until next chapter (whenever it might be).**


	12. Chapter 12 - Outburst

**Chapter 12: Outburst**

Quietly reading her novel, Blanc did her best to ignore the teen. While he looked like he was having a rather rough time coping with the situation, she certainly hadn't forgotten the day before.

Besides, she only decided to let him in because he'd probably be causing even more of a ruckus than before if she hadn't. Not that this was any better.

Looking up from her novel, Blanc glared at the bathroom door. Locked. As it had been for the past half an hour.

"As soon as he came in here he rushed inside," Blanc mumbled. "I know I should probably ignore it, but this getting ridiculous."

Placing the book on her seat and stomping to the door, Blanc slammed her fist against it twice. "Hey! What's taking you so long? Go touch yourself in your own time!"

The sound of someone stumbling around could be heard from inside. "I-I'm not- okay wait. Why would you even think that?"

"Boys will always be boys. I've told you this before. Plus, I can't imagine why else you would stay in there for a whole damn half an hour other than to mast-"

A loud, yet muffled yelp was heard from the otherside of the door. "Aaagh, err, blaaaagh! Don't even say it! Alright, I'm coming out."

As the door clicked open, Blanc prayed to herself the teen would at least be wearing pants. To her pleasant surprise, he was.

However, judging by his moist hair and the watermarks around his collar, he probably had plunged his head below the tap and opened it all the way. He really wasn't taking this too well, was he?

With faked composure, Toby looked down on Blanc. "See? Completely fine. Nothing weird. Nothing interesting to see."

Looking him from head to toe once more, Blanc couldn't help but smirk at how blatant and obvious his lie was. "Right. Whatever you say."

Not noticing her smirk, perhaps intentionally, Toby walked past her and sat down on one of the seats in the room. Seems like he was also holding on to that grudge just like she was.

She hadn't called him out of the washroom to just be ignored like that. Perhaps she should be a little more 'direct'.

Taking the seat on the exact opposite of him, Blanc did the one thing not a single soul could ignore. She put on her best poker face, narrowed her eyes and...

" _Stare"_

"..."

" _ **Stare**_ "

"..."

" _ **Staaaaaaaare**_ "

"U-uh… Is there something on my face? It kind just… Just feels like you're staring straight through. Into my soul, piercing it by simply looking at me... or something."

"..."

"..."

" _ **Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare**_ "

"S-seriously. It's like… Like… Like… I suddenly feel so cold. So… unattached to reality. As if I'm staring into the void when it stares back. Bu-bu-but there's another abyss beyond all of this. What is life? What is death? What is a man, but a miserable pile of secrets?"

Out of nowhere, Toby somehow got a glass and cast it aside… The shards also somehow cleaned themselves up. As if they were never there.

"Are you done rambling? I was just thinking about asking you something. It's really putting me off of reading my novel."

Toby blinked a few times before putting his false sense of confidence back on track. "Really now? Well, it must be very important then. Alright, what's bothering you?"

And once again, Blanc smirked at how obvious it all was. "Heh… Ahem, well anyway, there's something been bothering me about yesterday."

Toby took a moment to think. "Oh. Well, uh, too soon?" he quietly said, scratching the back of his head.

"No, not that. Let's just completely forget you called me and my friends tyrants and that you nearly killed one of them."

Toby shuffled on his seat uncomfortably for a second. "Right, right. The, uh, ahem..."

"So I was wondering," Blanc continued, "what exactly was that magic you used? You know, that blue light you summoned?"

"Oh, nothing much," Toby replied. "It's as I said. It's one of Lithyum's best magic attacks. _The Starduster_ as she calls it. I didn't really practice it or anything and I was actually kinda surprised I managed to pull it off."

Blanc thoughtfully closed her eyes. "Hmm. There's a couple of things wrong with that. First, if I remember correctly, Histoire summoned you from another dimension, correct?"

Toby nodded. "Pretty much."

"Then I'd assume you're from the same dimension as a certain other asshead which's name I shall not mention."

"Certain other asshead? Oh, you must mean Mister La-"

Blanc raised her hand. "Don't. Say it. Even the name alone pisses me off."

Toby nodded once more. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "This might sound strange to you, but apparently the humans from your dimension are incapable of using magic."

"... Then how do you explain yesterday?" Toby doubtfully asked with his arms folded.

"I was about to ask you the same. But I don't suppose you have a clue either then?"

Shrugging, the teen was just as clueless as her. "I honestly have no idea. I kinda just… You know, felt it and shouted the name of the attack. I thought it was that easy to use magic and stuff."

"Obviously, there's a little more to it. But that's the base premise, I suppose. Anyway, perhaps I'm looking at it from the wrong angle. Has anything supernatural happened to you as of recently?"

"Uh… Well… Oh!" Toby clapped his fist into his palm. "Just that evening, Lithyum and I both won a dozen plushies at the arcade. Not only that, but we both managed to get a perfect score at DDR in the same game."

A visible sweatdrop formed on Blanc's head. "That's… Not what I was meant. Ugh. Whatever. I'm probably overthinking this anyway."

Concluding there was no possible way for Toby to know the answer, Blanc grabbed her novel and continued reading. It should be impossible for him to use any sort of magic. Even his blade is just a common steel rapier. Perhaps the answer will come to her on it's own eventually.

After a brief moment of silence, Toby cleared his throat. "Ahem. Say, mind if I also ask something that's been bugging me."

"Hm? What's that?"

Pointing his thumb behind him towards the hallway, Toby asked his question. "There's, uh… You know, something really weird going on with the staff here. They're all exactly alike. Like… Exactly. Are they all siblings or something?"

Blanc raised both eyebrows. It took her a moment to understand his confusion. "Ooh. I suppose that would be pretty strange to you if you've never seen them before. I personally don't know much about them either, but they're the Soldiers of Tari. The Valkyries, I believe."

"The what now?"

"Valkyries. Basically, Tari's oracle was a little too attached to his wife. So he decided to clone her and turn them into elite soldiers. I think you already know who Tari's oracle is, don't you?"

A mixture of surprise and disgust formed on Toby's face. "That's… I'm not sure how to react. I have so many questions."

"So do I. But don't think about it too hard. I didn't either. And I don't care enough to argue with the mind of a ruthless megalomaniac."

"Just how many names are you gonna call him?"

Blanc ignored the question and resumed reading. She wanted to finish this last chapter before-

* **Bzzt** * * **Bzzt** *

"... Typical. Alright, get your shit together. It's time." Without even checking her phone, Blanc got up and put her coat and hat on. She already knew what time it was.

Toby hesitantly got up and followed her out of the door. "Already? Jeesh, talk about rushing things."

"Maybe if you'd gotten here sooner you would've gotten more time to mentally prepare yourself."

"Right, right," Toby mumbled under his breath, not wanting to object her logic.

With that one final dismissive response, they stepped into the elevator and went back down to the ground floor. Blanc already knew it was going to be a long, silent, awkward walk. This was going to be a terrible night.

* * *

"This is gonna be the best night _ever_!" Geoffrey cheered, pumping his fist in the air victoriously.

"Why did you just suddenly say that out of the blue?" Linda deadpanned.

"Because it is! Words cannot express how much I've been looking forward to this day! The day Neptune is going to fight for her life and probably die in the most horrible way imaginable! It will be glorious. Ehah… Eheh-ahaHAHAAAHAHAA-aaa!"

Laughing like a stereotypical mad scientist, Geoffrey's lips twisted into a maniacal glee. Linda decided to take a step away from the deranged creep. "Riiight. Take a chill pill, dude. And what about the other CPUs?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, right. Those exist too, I guess. The CPUs I mean. Not the chill pills. Just because it rhymes doesn't mean it exists."

Being the sponsors of the event, Geoffrey and Linda were given front row seats for the spectacle. Of course, with Rei being the CPU of the nation, she was also offered a ticket. At first she rejected it instantly. But...

"I still don't understand why you had to take me along," Rei complained, trailing closely behind the two in her human form. "I'm a Goddess. I am **the** Goddess. I ordered you to recapture those phony CPUs by any means necessary, beat the living crap out of you to make sure you'd do your absolute and utmost best and here we are. Going to the Colosseum to watch them fight each other to the death in the most primitive way possible. I could've done something far more productive in the time we've been here."

Geoffrey stopped and turned to face the Goddess. "But I do all the work around Tari. Plus, showing your face in the public like this should give you some free shares. Seriously, smile at some of the kids around here. They love it when you do that."

Unamused, Rei hissed. "How about you smile at the kids instead? I can assure you they'll run away screaming for their parents. "

Geoffrey swallowed. "F-funny as ever, my Lady. Ahah. Heh. Ahem"

Allowing an annoyed sigh to escape her lips, Rei finally took notice of Linda. "Whatever. Hey. You."

"Huh… Me?" Linda asked, pointing to herself.

"Yeah. You. You're this dork's assistant, right?"

Linda glanced at said dork. He looked the other way with an annoyed expression. "Not really. I just do what he tells me to do and he pays me good cash."

"Hmpf. Anyway, weren't you also part of ASIC? Doesn't that mean you are supposed to be at work right now? Managing the event and all? Or are you perhaps slacking?"

Blinking a few times, Linda gazed at Tari's CPU. From stories — and the many times her boss got beaten up — she always imagined her to be some cold, evil, heartless dictator. But she sounds more like an annoyed brat that just so happened to be Goddess. Perhaps she was acting this way because they were in public.

Sighing, Linda responded. "Well, things between me and CFW Magic got a little… Uneasy. And she…She kinda kicked me out."

Looking like she was holding in her laughter, Rei raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? You literally are the one responsible for her revival and she wasn't even thankful in the slightest. Oh-ho, that's just rich."

Linda bit her lip. As if she's just simply being a prick for the sake of being a prick. "Oh shut up. I never wanted any of this, you know? Rebuilding ASIC was always my dream. But this isn't what ASIC stood for. We were outcasts. A group of people the CPUs abandoned. Now we're some sort of terrorist organisation out to kill the CPUs rather than being a pain in their butt and living life by our own rules."

"And you thought ASIC would be restored to its former glory if you brought Magic back. What even was your plan, Linda?" Geoffrey questioned mockingly. "By the by, wait here for a sec. I'll go and cut the line and show our VIP passes. Stay put you lay-days."

Cutting the line like he said he would, with many complaints from those who had been patiently waiting, Linda and Rei looked at the man rudely ignoring the ethics of waiting.

"Man, how I hate that guy," they both said in at the same time, catching each others attention. There was an odd moment of silence as they just looked at each other before Rei was the first to say something.

"Hold on. You also despise him?"

"Heck yeah I do. I just stick around because he pays me good cash. What about you then? If you hate him so much, why did you let him convince you to tag along? Heck, why do you keep him around?"

"Geez, sorry for wanting those 'free shares' he keeps on crying about. Besides, he pretty much does anything I want him to do. He's probably my most loyal follower."

Once again, they both simply gazed at each other.

"So we both hate his guts, huh?" Linda questioned with a cheeky smile.

"I guess so," Rei agreed, smiling back in her own disturbing way. "And we both keep him around for personal gain. Like, seriously. He wouldn't be so bad if he was so annoyingly cheerful all the time."

"Whoa, you think so too? Actually, men in general are just plain annoying and disgusting. I mean, most of them are ogling those 'pretty' CPU broads in those skimpy outfits, but do they ever look at a normal girl like me? No way. Why? Because I ain't dressed like some bimbo and have some dignity."

Rei's eyes widened. "Oh my god. Never before has anyone spoken words truer than those. Back in the day, most of my followers were men. They were quick to turn tail on me when some loli Goddess showed up in scanty clothes. Those disgusting roaches were clearly not worth the dirt under my boot. Lolicons should be publicly lynched, if you ask me. And so should the CPU of Lowee for encouraging this kind of behaviour."

"What? Well, I agree the CPU of Lowee looks far too young to rule a nation, but I wouldn't outright kill her for it. But other than that… Yeah. Lolicons are simply human trash."

Again, Linda and Rei looked each other over.

"You know what?" Rei began. "You're not so bad. If it ever comes to it, I think I'll kill you last."

Linda was mildly confused as she realised what the woman just told her. She then remember who she was talking to. "Oh… Yeah, that's cool. You're not so bad either, you know?"

"Hey, hey! Stop cutting the line already, you old sack of sh-"

Both women turned to the ruckus being caused at the line of people. Once more, it seemed that Geoffrey was not respecting the ethics of patiently waiting in a line. " For the last time, I'm not cutting _in_ the line, I'm cutting _out_ the line. Now move it already!"

Shouting angrily while pushing a group of pedestrians out of the way, the man returned to his companions with a straight face. "Alright, I'm back with the tickets and-... And… Why are you both smiling?"

Geoffrey, slowly backing off, alternated his eyes between the two. "Seriously, I didn't even think either of you were physically capable of tensing the muscles around your mouth in such a genuine way. What did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing much," Linda answered, winking at her new friend. "Right, _Lady_ Rei?"

"Yeah. I honestly have noooo idea what you're talking about. Why don't you lead us to our seats?"

Scratching his head, the man turned around and bellowed the two to follow. "Right this way."

"Heh… Idiot," Rei mumbled.

"Complete nitwit," Linda whispered back.

As unbelievable as it might be, it seemed like Linda and Rei had a few things in common. A pleasant, yet unexpected surprise for theunderling indeed. Having some powerful friends would certainly help her out in the long run.

* * *

"Just what is taking those two so long?" IF tapped her foot impatiently. Perhaps it was a twitch from the tension she was feeling. Maybe she was just annoyed at the fact she had to fight on the same team as someone that just tried to kill her a day ago. If anything, it was probably both.

IF was, along with the others, patiently waiting in the locker room. As depressing as it looked — there was a distinct lack of colour — they had to wait it out until some staff member would come and get them. At least the staff had tried giving the locker room a little personality. There was a small bouquet of flowers hanging from the wall. In the end, it was as useful as a knife in a gunfight.

"What's up IF?" the woman beside her asked. "You look a little down. Feeling tense?"

The agent looked up at the red-haired adventurer. Wearing her usual blue jacket, matching her shorts, IF never understood why someone of her age still walks in such revealing clothes.

At first, Falcom was supposed to replace Toby for the event. After all, ASIC demanded they would come as eight. And with Falcom's adventurous and kind nature, it was only natural she would accept her old friend's request.

IF averted her gaze. "Sorta. I'm more worried about our eighth member."

Falcom sat down closely beside her. "You mean the Orange Outplay?"

Hearing the ridiculous nickname, IF couldn't help but burst into a brief laugh. "Pff. What? People seriously call him that?"

"Eh. I think it's pretty cool. I've heard a lot of great stories about him too. He's pretty popular around Planeptune?"

"I somehow highly doubt that."

IF looked around the room. In one corner, Nepgear, Vert and Compa were chatting away about what the agent could only describe as typical girly things. In the other corner, Noire had isolated herself from the group. Ever since Uni's incident, Noire refused to talk to anyone about pretty much anything. It honestly worried IF, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. If only Neptune were here.

"Besides," IF continued relaxing her shoulders a little, "I don't think he'll be that useful compared to everyone else, at least. Just look around. We've got three CPUs, a CPU candidate, two veterans and a nurse. I think we're just fine as we are."

Falcom smiled. "You worry too much, IF. I'm sure he'll do his best. And if what you say is true, that's all that will count, right?"

The agent rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to tell Falcom that in reality she just really despises him. "Yeah. Sure. Anyway, aren't you feeling a little nervous? Maybe tense? You sound so laid back."

"I'd be lying if I said I'm not," Falcom admitted. "But I feel pretty safe with the lot of you backing me up. I know I can trust all of you with my life."

IF faintly smiled back. "To be honest, I feel a little sorry for dragging you into this. I mean, it's our problem and all, so we should-"

"Nonsense," Falcom interrupted, firmly patting IF on the shoulder. "I'm more than happy to help with this kind of stuff and you know it. Tell you what. After this, why don't we-"

"Whoa, time out!" IF shouted, making T-shape with her hands. "Don't say it."

Everyone in the room turned to look at the two.

"Uhm… Don't say what?" Falcom innocently asked.

"Just… That. Don't say it. You were about to set a death flag by saying 'after this is all done, we'll do x thing."

Compa got up from her chair and moved to sit beside IF. "Tee hee. Iffy, you sounded a lot like Nep-Nep when you said that."

"But it's true," IF insisted, lowering her hands with open palms. "If we're going to declare ourselves victorious even before we started, we might as well just jump off a cliff now."

Nepgear stepped before her and put the back of her hand on IF's forehead. "Goodness IF. I don't think I have ever seen you this stressed before. Are you alright? Do you have a cold?"

"Who're you calling stressed? I'm fine, damn it!"

"You do appear to be quite nervous," Vert acknowledged. "Pardon me if I'm being presumptuous, but is this because of yesterday?"

Falcom looked at everyone in confusion. "Hm? Yesterday? What about yesterday?"

Sure enough, because of her previous outburst, she now had caught the attention of everyone. Except for Noire's. She was still looking down with a mean frown on her face.

IF took a breath before looking Falcom in the eyes. "I may have gotten in a pretty bad fight with the 'Orange Outplay'. The really bad kind. Like, really _really_ bad kind of."

The adventures' jaw dropped slightly. "Really? Why? What happened?"

IF opened her mouth, ready to explain the situation, but she was cut off by Blanc bursting into the room. "Sorry we're late," Blanc announced, tossing the door open with a loud 'Ka-thunk'. "This one here thought it was a good idea to walk at a snail's pace."

Toby slowly tailed Blanc inside. "I wasn't walking that slowly. It was a pretty normal pace if you ask me."

Nepgear was the first to walk up to the teen. "Good to see again, Toby. Are you ready for this?"

Even before the teen said anything, IF could already tell he was definitely not mentally prepared. "Heh. As ready as I can be," he lied. "Yep. N-not nervous at all. What about you?"

Luckily for him, Nepgear appeared to be rather oblivious to it. "I'm a little nervous. But I know I'll be fine with the support from everyone."

Everyone took their turn to have a word with the teen, except for IF and Noire. While the latter was simply being as grumpy as ever, IF was simply not in the mood to talk to him. This did not go unnoticed, however.

Falcom suddenly grabbed IF's wrist and pulled her closer.

IF's eyes widened as she got yanked up. Before she knew, she was facing Toby, which was just as confused as her. Falcom had wrapped her arm around both their necks and had pulled the both of them close to herself. This was a pretty bold move, even for her.

"So you're Toby, right?" Falcom asked. "I keep hearing great stories about you whenever I'm in Planeptune."

IF winced. This was clearly an exaggeration. One Toby failed to see. "O-oh. Well, thanks. You're… Falcom, right? Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine. My friend IF also told me a lot of good things about you."

"Wait, what are y- _Mmph_!" IF wanted to speak up, but Falcom quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

Toby slowly shook his head in disbelief."IF? Good things about me?"

"Yeah. She thinks you're a really cool kid and looks up to you for your courage. It takes a lot of guts for someone to be here, you know?"

IF struggled a little to free herself, but Falcom tightened her grip and gave a playful wink. She clearly misunderstood the situation.

Toby awkwardly looked around the room. "Uhh… Huh… Right," he slowly mumbled. "So what you're saying is that IF thinks I'm actually a cool dude? And this happened-"

"Just a moment ago," Falcom finished. "Heck, she even told me she's been eyeing you for some time now."

IF's eyes shot wide open with shock. " _Okay. That's too far!_ " she thought, desperately struggling to free herself. _Just how strong is this girl? And why is no one helping me? Someone, anyone, stop this delusional adventurer from making this any worse!_ "

Falcom leaned a little closer towards the confused teen. "I heard you two got in a pretty bad fight though. Maybe if you tell her you're sorry, you two can… Well, I think I've said enough. Right IF… Uhm… IF?"

As if only now she noticed how much anger the agent had bottled up, Falcom realised she probably made a huge mistake.

Catching her off guard, IF seized her opportunity and freed herself from Falcom's iron grip. "Gaah! What the hell are you saying, Falcom!?" IF loudly bellowed. "Don't you go around spouting nonsense like that! Are you actually reta-... Are you actually insane!?"

With a sorry look, Falcom stumbled back a little. "R-right. Sorry. I just-"

"No! Nothing of that." IF quickly diverted her attention to Toby. "And you! Don't go get any weird ideas. First of all, I never, **ever** like you. Not even a little. Heck, I could tell from day one that you were going to be nothing but deadweight."

Toby recoiled a little. "B-but… Well… Why would you-... Uh.. You know… Still… Invite me… Over f-for all of this?"

"Because Histoire thought you were oh-so-useful," IF scoffed. "Useful my ass. If I'm being honest, I'm happy you're leaving once this is all over."

"Iffy! That's not nice! Please, calm yourself!" Compa grabbed IF by her shoulder, but as soon as she got a grip, the agent shook her hand away.

"No! I'm not having any of this. In fact, how can any of you stay so calm in all of this?"

Taking a deep breath, IF shifted her tone to a more calm one. "Don't any of you just feel the gravity of this situation? Nep is dying as we speak, we're about to enter some edgy game of death where we'll be playing for the lives of Rom and Ram and worst of all, Uni's gone. Like, we actually had a friend die. Do you understand me? This isn't a game any more.."

No one responded. Not even Noire, who's gaze was piercing right through IF. She was still very sensitive about Uni. But with everyone's gaze fixated upon her, IF cared very little.

"Not only that," IF continued as calmly as she could, "even if we _somehow_ get through this by some Goddess-forbidden miracle, we'll still have to deal with Tari. And I somehow doubt that scum Geoffrey hasn't been plotting something behind the curtains."

Still, no one dared to speak up. Some of them were afraid to raise their voice, whilst others were curious to hear what else IF had to say.

"We've been enduring this for over a year now. A full year of constant attacks, quests, and chasing that jerk around. Other than getting the lot of you back," IF nodded to the three CPUs in the room, "we haven't made a lot of progress of getting back into the game. Lastation, Leanbox and Lowee are still under Tari's control… Can't you guys see it? We're trapped. Lost. The game's already over."

Finally, Noire stepped forward, a grim expression clouding her face. "For your sake, I hope you're not implying Uni's death could have been prevented if I had simply worked harder."

"There is a piece of the truth in her words, I must admit," Vert said under her breath.

Noire turned, livid expression on her face as she stared at Vert. "What. Was. That?"

"We could have prevented Uni's incident if took the situation more seriously…" Nepgear added hesitantly. "Maybe if we simply went all out from the start, none of this would've happened…"

"So should I just glance over the fact my little sisters' lives are at stake here or are we going to keep crying about the past?" Blanc bluntly asked, a tone of sarcasm lingering in her voice.

"It happened just last week!" Noire pointed out, her hands buried in her hair. "Who cares about those brats anyway!?"

Blanc lowered her head. Her bangs were now shadowing her eyes, with her right eye glowing a dangerous shade of red. "The fuck did you just say, you black bimbo!? Say that again, I fucking dare you! I mother fucking double dare you!"

"You heard me the first time," Noire smirked, whipping one of her twintails. "Don't make me repeat myself."

Blanc stomped forward, her face inches away from Noire's. "Oh really? At least I care enough about my little sisters to go out and save them. What about yours, huh? Oh that's right. Guess you didn't give enough of a shit to do the same."

The instant Blanc finished, Noire stomped and shot forward, causing her to recoil. "I didn't expect someone as cold as you to show compassion, but that's uncalled for. Guess that chest of yours is so flat because there isn't a heart in there."

As things got worse by the second, the few of them were each shouting different things to each other. From sensitive subjects like the remaining CPU candidates to more personal quarrels, the discussion had turned in an all-out war between friends.

Until…

"E-everyone! S-stop!"

Every girl in the room turned their attention towards Toby, who was looking more and more nervous by the second.

" _Out of anyone to call for a stop, it just had to be him._ " IF thought. " _This is going to make things just worse. It just is. I can see him trembling all the way from here._ "

Toby's eyes alternated between all the girls for a moment, making sure he had everyone's full attention. "Just… Just look at yourselves. You're Deities. Goddesses. Fighters that represent that little spark of hope everyone has been holding on to…"

Toby noticed a nearby chair. Grabbing it by the back, he pulled it closer and stepped on it. First, he looked at IF in particular. "I get it. It's true I'm not some sort of hero or something. But you guys are. Every single one of you. You haven't gotten this far to lose hope, have you? You didn't hold out for an entire year to lose now, right?"

IF averted her gaze. " _Okay… That was… Sorta inspiring, I guess._ "

He then turned to both Noire and Blanc. "None of us are blaming any of you for what happened to Uni. The one responsible for that is… 'some asshead,' if you know what I mean. And if we won't do something, Uni won't be the only casualty."

Both Blanc and Noire looked at each other before they both quickly looked away again.

The teen finally turned to the group in general. "I can't say I can understand what the lot of you have been going through. But if you all started fighting now, none of you will make it out of Anarchy Arena alive. None of you want any of this. But just look at how close you are. Once this is over, the four CPUs and the candidates will be together again with only one… One VERY important casualty."

Taking a deep breath, Toby continued his speech. "But if you keep looking back, you won't see what's ahead. And with the seven of you here, shouldn't you consider it to be a blessing rather than a curse?"

"... Then what?"

The small crowd turned to the backside of the room. Noire unfolded her arms and walked to the front. "Let's say we win and we get the CPU candidates of Lowee back. We'll still be drained of shares. Tari has been holding on to nearly eighty-five percent of all shares in Gamindustri for the last six months. How do you suppose we fix that?"

Toby took a moment to respond, carefully thinking of a solution. He then pointed to a poster of Anarchy Arena on a nearby pinboard. "They ran out of tickets a couple of days after the event was announced… Or so I heard. Not only that, but the event will be broadcast live throughout all of Gamindustri. On a pirated channel no less, but it is something."

Noire silently gazed at the teen, awaiting his full response.

"If anything, Anarchy Arena is an opportunity. One all of you should take. Once you get your shares back, you can go around reclaiming your nations together. Get shares, get a nation, get shares, repeat. It's that simple."

Blanc pushed Nepgear aside and stepped to the front. "And you think Tari won't stop us, because…?"

"But it's a good start," Falcom praised. "It's not much, but I don't see any flaws in it."

Softly nodding, Compa also spoke her mind. "I think Mister Toby is right. There are still a few problems, but we should be able to solve most of them."

"So what you're saying is that we should work together and gather as many shares as we can in the next hour or so?" Vert question, pushing her breast up with her left arm. "Hmm. If we work together we should be able to perform quite well."

Once again, the room was filled with an awkward silence. IF glanced around at every single one of them. They looked… confident. Heck, they all looked content with the plan. Did Toby actually do something useful?

The agent didn't have much time to think about it. Right then, an ASIC goon knocked on the door. "Uhh… Yeah, you dudette's gonna hafta follow me to the are'a. The show' startin' innabout a few mins."

With one last glance at each other, the seven of them followed the goon to the arena, feeling a little more confident than before.

IF was left alone in the locker room. Sighing, she looked straight up at the ceiling. "Goddess have mercy upon my soul please," she jokingly said before following the others out.


	13. Chapter 13 - Live! Straight from Tari!

**Whoa. Reviews. Gotta respond to them:**

-Shattersoul: Le Gasp! Thank you so much. I dunno either. Guess people don't like AU OC stuff…? But… Isn't that any OC story? Too many questions. Anyway, I'll be sure to do give you that rightful shout-out right after I get the other reviews out of the way! Also, keep up the good work man.

-Shadicon: Glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure Falcom will think twice about assuming next time. Anyway, you might be a little disappointed if you thought this would be the start of it all. Just a little. Don't worry. We'll get straight into the carnage after a few words from our sponsor… That's probably funnier _after_ you've read the story, but… eh…

-zeldawolffang: Everyone's just a little stressed at the moment. Noire and Blanc with their sisters and IF's going through a lot of stuff with Toby. They'll be back to normal soon enough. Right when the wind favours them again.

 **And that's all of them. Finally, as promised, I would like to make one last shout out to my beta reader Shattersoul, the author of HyperDementia Neptunia: Welcome to our Dimension. If you haven't yet, consider checking him out. He does what I do (but better).**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Live! Straight from Tari!**

"And 'ere y'all go, lad n ladies. Just 'ait 'ere and go in when de light atop de door goes green," the goon explained, pointing at gate. "Imma get out now tho'. 'ave fun killin', a'rite?"

Soon after everyone stepped into a poorly lit room, the goon left and closed the door behind them. It was grim, unpleasant, and there was a rancid smell hanging in the air. To top it all off, one of the lights kept on flickering on and off in the most inconsistent and annoying way imaginable, crackling and buzzing the entire time.

"Tari should honestly work on its sanitation," IF complained. "This isn't even ASIC's arena. It's Tari's Colosseum. Owned by the Basilicom and everything... Actually, now that I think about it, I guess this was just about what I was expecting.

Toby cared little about his surroundings, though. He approached the gate and grasped one of its bars. Behind it was a long hallway, with only a bright light shining at the very end. He could hear a cheering crowd in the distance, along with a set of voices, each speaking through what he assumed were megaphones.

It took all of his resolve to stop himself from trembling. While he had somehow managed to calm everyone down with his speech, in reality, he was probably the least confident of everyone.

He was afraid. Afraid for his life. He could feel his heart beating in his throat. Every muscle in his body told him to flee, to turn around and get out while he still could. But of course, fleeing was not an option. Not anymore

Reaching into his pocket, he took out his old phone. It had been a while since he had thought about it, but perhaps it was just the thing that would ease his mind.

Like always, there was _no signal_ , but it didn't matter. Not this time, anyway. He quickly navigated through the menu to his text history. At the very top of the list was the text he had sent his mother the same day he arrived in the Hyperdimension.

" _[Unknown Date] 9:35_ \- _Hi ma. Won't be home anytime soon… Long story._ "

"Long story…" Toby mumbled, looking back up. "Yeah. Guess it is a long story."

The single sentence made Toby feel nostalgic for some reason. " _The first day I arrived at the Hyperdimension,_ " Toby thought. " _Man, how naïve I used to be back then. I thought I could befriend Nep and the others, but I ended up nearly killing one of them. I thought Mister Lance was a pretty nice man, yet he turned out to be a complete psycho. I thought going on an adventure would be fun… Well, I'm here now. Am I having fun?_ "

Frowning, Toby turned around and looked at the others. Surprisingly, every single one of them looked at least a little nervous. Perhaps the situation had finally dawned on them.

Taking a deep breath, as he gazed at the others, Toby spoke his thoughts out loud. "I think I'd rather see them behind my computer screen."

"That was a good speech, Tobias," A womanly voice beside him spoke. "But what is this about computer screens?"

Startled, Toby quickly turned to face the voice. It was Vert, who was giving him a warm smile. "I must confess, even I was a little worried there. I thought they would end up jumping at each other's necks before the fight had even begun. Never would I have expected it to be you who would give such a magnificent speech, however."

Scratching the back of his head, Toby responded. "O-oh. It was nothing, really. I, uh… I just said what I thought."

"Nonsense," Vert replied. "If you were in the same situation two weeks ago, you would never have stepped in the way you did just then."

"I'm... flattered?" Toby hesitantly thanked. He wasn't sure whether she was complimenting him or not.

Nodding in confirmation, Vert continued. "You should be. Such improvement in such little time. I still remember how you were trembling before that pirate captain. And just look at yourself now. You're about to face almost-certain death and you're not even shaking."

Toby swallowed. "Ah-ha. Y-yeah. I, uh, well... I am quite nervous, you know? Haha… Hah…"

Vert placed her hand on his shoulder and got a little closer. "Remember what I said back then? Back at the ASIC Warehouse?"

Toby shook his head.

"I told you that I would be looking forward to working with you again, remember?"

Toby looked down for a second, trying to remember this. "Oh yeah. You did say that..."

"Well, today we'll be fighting alongside each other again. I'm certain you won't disappoint, so give it your all today, alright?"

"R-right!"

Patting his shoulder a few times, Vert let go of him and looked around the room. When she spotted Nepgear all by her lonesome self, her eyes widened in glee before she snuck towards the Candidate.

Toby had long since lost track of her though. His attention had instead turned inwards. He didn't understand why, but her words of encouragement did little to calm him. Usually he'd feel at least something, but this time felt different.

Shaking his head, he turned back to the bars. The light at the very end of the hall was flashing with all sorts of colours and the voices of the announcers had gotten even louder. Also a little more audible.

Curious, Toby pushed his ear between the bars and did his best to listen. It was muffled, and there was a faint echo behind it, but he could almost make out what they were saying.

" _and-... -us sa-... above th-..."_

Still unable to understand any of it, Toby put his hand behind his ear. Finally, he could understand most of it. Enough to fill in the blanks at least. " _-and that's when I pushed her down the stairs. Bwahaha!"_ one of the announcers laughed.

"... What?" Toby narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I... Probably misheard?"

" _Good one, Hew,_ " the other announcer stated. His voice was heavy and coarse. Almost like someone that had been smoking for the past twenty odd years. " _I can't believe I never thought of doing the same with my ex… But enough about our shitty love life. Do you know what time it is?_ "

" _I sure do, Greese,_ " the announcer now known as 'Hew' replied, speaking in a very articulate manner. " _Half past seven, to be precise. And we both know what means… Ladies and Gentlemen. It. Is. Time! The moment we've all been waiting for. Is finally here."_

With a loud buzz, the light above the gate flickered between the colours red and green before ultimately becoming the latter. The gate slowly rose, the creaking of metal echoing through the room.

Toby looked at the others. The CPUs were in the middle of transforming while the others looked at each other a little uneasy. No one wanted to be the first to go, it seemed.

After a short awkward moment of exchanging glances, it was Black Heart who pushed Toby aside and took the lead. "Come on then. Your sisters aren't going to save themselves, now are they, ' _White Heart'_?" she spoke, with just a tinge of mockery on her voice.

White heart clenched her fists."H-hey! You don't have to tell me," she replied irritated as she followed her transformed companion.

One by one, the group followed each other through the hallway. Soon, the only two that remained were Toby and IF.

Gazing at each other, IF's expression had lightened up a little. Rather than her usual frown of disgust, it seemed more like a look of disappointment.

"... Shall we?" Toby asked, doing his best to hide his nervousness.

IF averted her eyes as she walked past him, not even meeting his gaze. "Shut it. I don't want to hear it."

Walking by her side, Toby took a deep breath. "Look, about-"

"Don't care," IF interrupted. "If I were you, I'd shut up and focus on the problem at hand."

"It's about yesterday," Toby continued. "Before we step into that ring, I want to have a clear conscience."

The agent slowed down before she turned to look him right into his eyes.

Swallowing the bile that had formed at the back of his throat, Toby spoke quietly. "I-... I'm sorry. I know this probably means very little to you, but… Well, it's the least I can tell you."

She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. She didn't seem very convinced. "... What for?"

Looking back ahead, the blinding light and the cheering crowd had gotten ever closer. Within a few steps, they would reach the end of the hallway.

Clasping his old phone in his pocket, Toby tensed his shoulders. "I'm sorry for everything..."

IF gazed upon the teen, seemingly confused about what he just said. But her expression quickly shifted back to her usual frown. "You're right. That did mean very little to me."

Toby clenched his teeth and turned to look the other way. " _Ouch… That's just cold."_

* * *

At the end of the hall, Nepgear was nearly blinded by the change in lighting. As her eyes slowly adjusted, she could begin to make out the everything before her.

The Colosseum was massive, and certainly nothing like the Planeptune's Colosseum. In fact, it was completely different from what the Candidate had imagined. She could only describe the layout to be the same as a sort of futuristic circus: with stands circling the centre stage and spotlights and cameras all pointing at the middle arena.

Speaking of the arena, it was a massive metal platform (with a few bloodstains here and there) suspended by six steel chains above a large pit. There were also a few perfect round holes in the platform. Looking down one, Nepgear was surprised to see the pit wasn't bottomless or filled with deadly spikes. Rather, it looked rather nice down there. While it was still quite a drop, the very bottom was filled with a bright turquoise liquid, presumably water. At least, she hoped it was water.

All together it didn't look nearly as scary as the Candidate had first imagined. Sure, it wasn't exactly the most pleasant place to be fighting, but it could've been much worse.

Taking a small leap, Nepgear landed on the platform and took a few steps towards the middle while scanning through the enormous crowd. There were probably hundreds, if not a few thousand spectators. The stands were filled with all sorts of people. Adventurers, ASIC goons, your average teenage boys, heck, there were even a handful of Valkyries in the mix. And those were just the few distinctive groups Nepgear could pick out.

"Wow… This place is massive. she quietly mumbled in admiration. "I wonder if Rei or that jerk Geoffrey are somewhere in the crowd…"

Green Heart, which had been sticking to Nepgear closely tapped on the girl's shoulder and pointed back at the gate they all just came through. "Look there. Above the gate. It seems the two of them received front row seats.

Just like Green Heart said, there was a throne with a smaller seat at each side, isolated from the rest of the crowd, reserved for the 'Empress'. Or in this case, for the CPU of Tari and her second- and third in command.

On it was a silver-haired woman with a set of marble white horns, wearing a rather revealing swimsuit. Holding her sceptre like a king, there was no doubt in the fact that this was Rei Ryghts: The CPU of Tari.

On her left sat a gray-skinned delinquent wearing a matching hoodie modelled after a mouse. Nepgear recognised the girl: with burning red eyes peeking past her toxic green hair, she was easily identifiable as Underling. She looked like she was having a good time.

Finally, to Rei's right sat a man wearing a purple lumberjack shirt and a dapper top hat. Surely, this man was Geoffrey. Seeing his face again after what had happened to Uni angered the Candidate greatly.

Nepgear inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. Now wasn't the time for anger. She would need to focus on the battle ahead. And more importantly, she should probably listen to the announcers explaining the rules of the game once more. She didn't really have the time to read up on it, unlike IF or Noire.

After the announcers were done introducing each of them —most introductions were pretty perverted— the announcers started to repeat the rules of the game.

" _So, Hew. How about you repeat the rules of this wonderful event for us one last time?_ " asked announcer Greese.

" _Absolutely, Greese. Ab-so-lutely. First of all, all fights are to the death. Of course, when some idiot is down, we won't force any of our pretty contestants to harm them any further. That's just mean._ "

" _But we'll totally force the geek in orange to snap their necks, right?_ " Greese jokingly asked, referring to Toby and his orange body warmer.

Hew giggled in a rather girlish way before answering. " _I wish we could, Greese. I really do. Anyway, death battles. Three rounds in total. The first round is just some idio-, I mean contestants that entered on their own volition. The second round, as you all know, is a surprise. A pleasant one, certainly, for our veteran fans. For you Anarchy Arena virgins out there, you're tough outta luck, because you won't have that same nostalgia some of the_ elites _have… Yes. You heard me. I said_ elites."

" _But what about round three, Hew? What about the grand finale?_ "

" _Glad you asked, Greese. I really am. Because I myself am looking forward to the final round very much. In the final round, CFW Magic herself will be stepping into the ring. I don't know if you've seen the lady ever fight, but it certainly is magical, let me tell you that._ "

With clear excitement behind his voice, Greese answered the question. " _Never before have I gotten the honours, Hew. You people at home probably can't tell, but I'm shaking in anticipation for this match. At this point, I'm honestly rooting for the CPUs to get that far._ "

" _Me too, Greese. Me too. In any case, if I may finish my explanation, as you veterans at home know, we of Anarchy Arena love to add a little twist to our fights. Do you remember last year?_ "

Both announcers went silent for a second. " _...You mean that 'stage hazard' that was just a pig with the hacksaw?_ " Greese asked carefully.

" _I sure do!_ "

" _... That shit was fucked up man. That thing still haunts me in my dreams. Who knew a pig could do so much damage with just a car exhaust and some bleach._ "

Once again, Hew giggled. " _Then you'll be pleasantly delighted to hear that we've come up with something even more messed up. Something even more ludicrous. Something even more-"_

The sounds of someone getting up from their chair hastily could be heard in the background. " _Fuck no! I'm outta here,"_ Greese exclaimed angrily. " _I'm not witnessing another fucking 'Burn the Bear' today, you hear me!?_ "

" _G-Greese!? Where you going? We need to-_ "

* **Slam** *

" _Greese? Hey, Greese?... G-Greese?... Err… Ladies and Gentlemen, the fifth champion of Anarchy Arena, my co-host, Greese Greeley, has officially left the booth out of fear for a pig… Don't look up vids of last year's Anarchy Arena. Anyway! If I may divert your attention, please, look at the bottom of the large pit our pretty contestants are suspended over._ "

"At the bottom of the pit?" Nepgear asked out loud, peeking over the edge of the platform. The same blue liquid was still there. Perhaps there was something deadly in the water? She couldn't see anything swimming in it...

" _Done looking? Good. Because, Ladies and Gentlemen, that isn't just a pool filled with your average back alley Tari chicks. In fact, that's not a pool at all. That's a pit filled to the brim with Dogoo's-_ "

Narrowing her eyes, Nepgear looked carefully. Surely enough, she could vaguely make out a few beige specs: The cute little snouts of the slimes. "Dogoo's? That doesn't sound so ba-"

"- _which haven't eaten in the last six weeks,_ " Hew continued happily. " _And as everyone knows, hungry Dogoo's become highly acidic, eating away at pretty much anything. Unfortunately for those little guys, the only food they'll be getting are any unlucky contestants that just so happen to tip over the edge."_

"...Huh...? W-What!?" Nepgear's eyes widened, turning to her friend in shock. "Uh, Vert. Isn't that… You know, dangerous?"

Green Heart looked just as surprised as she did. "I do believe that's the point, my dear sister… Perhaps it is for the best we stay in our HDD. That way we can simply fly out of harm's way."

" _Oh. Uhh. Huh. So it turns out the guy who was in charge of feeding them six weeks ago got fired. So we don't quite know how long they've gone hungry. Could be six weeks, could be twelve."_ stated Hew, in a slightly confused voice. " _Well, they'll definitely not be hungry by the end of tonight!"_

"Right! Good thinking, Vert," Nepgear complimented before turning to the others and regrouping with them.

Both Black Heart and White Heart seemed to be unaffected by the idea of fighting above a large pit of death. The others, however, appeared to be a little less comfortable. Compa clung on to Toby, looking rather panicked as she held him tightly, while IF and Falcom looked like they were trying to keep their balance, even though they were standing a safe distance from the edge.

"Is everyone ready?" Nepgear asked, giving everyone in the group a final glance.

White Heart summoned her axe and carried it over her shoulder. "Time to whoop some ass!"

Black Heart extended her arm out, her massive blade forming in her hand as she grasped on to it. "Ready whenever..."

Both Falcom and IF unsheeted their respective weapons, taking a battle-ready stance. "Don't you worry. I'm ready!" Falcom confirmed.

Compa slowly let go of Toby, taking her oversized Syringe from somewhere. "O-okay… I think I can stand again… Please keep me safe from all the mister bad guys."

Now free of the Nurse's embrace, Toby also took out his blade. "R-right. No turning back now…"

Finally, Green Heart, already spear in hand, spun her weapon several times before taking it in both hands. "I'll leave our enemy at my grace's mercy."

Nodding, the Candidate turned her back to her allies. Summoning her gunblade, Nepgear gave it a swing as she too took a battle stance. "Right… Everyone is counting on me. So I won't let them down! I'm ready!"

Right on time, the sole announcer was done with his monologue and began announcing the start of the main event. "- _And with that out of the way, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you for your patience. Because… It. Is. Time! For the main event of tonight! Everyone, here we go!"_

Each spotlight in the arena was aimed straight at the eight of them. Each camera was on, ready to record every moment of the fight. The battle was at hand.

"Right!" All the girls shouted, motivated to start.

".. _. But first, a word from our sponsor_."

"... Huh?"

Nepgear looked up in confusion. "Did-… Wait… Huh?"

The previously mentioned spotlights and cameras were now pointing in the general direction of Rei and her companions. The three of them appeared to have been unaware of this 'word' they were supposed to bring out. Geoffrey was about to get up from his chair when suddenly an ASIC goon stopped him and forced a microphone into his hand. He looked at it for a moment, then held it far away from his mouth and began discussing something with the two beside him.

"... So… We won't have to fight yet or...?" Falcom asked.

"I think we just got faked out," Toby stated. "Now that I think about it, it's almost like real television. With all the delay and commercials in-between before the real event starts."

IF sighed. "You're not far off, you know? I checked a few Anarchy Arena videos online yesterday. They do this stuff all the time. Apparently it gets more view time if they funnel down the battle time. Don't ask me how or why."

After a full minute of confusion, Geoffrey held to microphone close to his mouth and began to speak. "Uh… Ahem… Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much for, uh… c-coming?..."

Geoffrey awkwardly held the mic away from his mouth again, discussing something with Linda and Rei, which were visibly frustrated.

"Right, right," Geoffrey continued. "Ahem. Let me go again. Thank you for this opportunity to speak, mister Heward Helmes. Thank you, indeed. For starters, my name is Geoffrey Lucian Lance. I am known the Oracle of Tari and I would like to take this moment to thank each of you for attending this event, sponsored Tari's very own CPU, Lady Cyan Heart."

Receiving a modest wave of applause, Rei smirked at the way the man referred to her, clearly pleased with her position.

"While I, as a citizen and loyal follower of my lady, would ask for your devotion in her, I would also like to ask you to put your faith into our contestants. Please, give them a warm applause, because it takes a lot of courage to be in that ring."

Clapping his hand together, Geoffrey encouraged the whole crowd to do the same. As the applause went on, Nepgear felt warmer. Stronger, even. Did Geoffrey just help them gain a few shares?

Loudly clearing his throat through the mic, Geoffrey allowed the applause to die down. "Yes, thank you very much for your support. Now for my next point I-"

"Would like to confess to murdering a young girl?" A womanly voice asked sarcastically, also speaking with a microphone.

Geoffrey looked around the arena. "Pardon? Excuse me, who said that?"

"That would be me," Black Heart said, flying up, holding a mic in one hand. Nepgear had no idea when or how she got one. "Would you mind if I asked you a simple question in front of all these people? You won't, right?"

Pulling his collar, Geoffrey's eyes darted around anxiously. "Err... No, I suppose I won't?"

"Very well. Before I do, I believe you are well aware of the current situation of Lastation's CPUs, correct?"

Geoffrey shrugged. "Yeah, I follow both you and Lady Black Sister on Chirper. I love everything you two-"

"Then you are aware of what happened to my sister, correct?" Black Heart's eyes narrowed. Looking at the man with an expression of pure hate, Nepgear realised where she was going with this.

Spreading her processor unit's wings, Nepgear was about to fly up and stop Black Heart, but she was promptly stopped by Green Heart, keeping her down by holding her hand. "Let her speak, Nepgear. This is something she must do."

"In case you, and everyone else, need a reminder…" Black Heart took a deep breath before she continued. "A few days ago, I publicly announced on chirper the unfortunate incident that had occurred related to my beloved sister, Lady Black Sister: Uni."

If the entire audience wasn't quiet already, it certainly was now. Black Heart had every person hanging on her lips. "The loss… Certainly hit me quite heavily, I admit. But that's all beside the point. The reason I am bringing this up now is because I previously did not give any details on what exactly had happened."

"Well, I certainly didn't want to bring any of this up," Geoffrey interjected. "With all due respect, Lady Black Heart, but I do not wish for you to bring the mood to… Ahem, to bring it down."

Black Heart slowly closed the distance between herself and the man. "With all due respect, I would appreciate it if you didn't cut me off like that. Now, if I may continue… About a week ago, I personally found my sister unconscious at the border of Lowee. She was injured. Left to die alone."

Geoffrey was silent. But Nepgear could tell he was panicking on the inside.

"From what we've heard from one of our informants, she wasn't ambushed by some monster. In fact, she was last seen with a man, driving down the road in a red sports car. A man from Tari. A man with an opera hat and a purple shirt." Black Heart pointed at the man. "Mister Geoffrey Lucian Lance, we have all the right to believe that this man was none other than you!"

The whole audience was in a state of discord. groups of spectators were practically rioting, shouting things like 'murderer' or 'psychopath'. Even Rei and Underling got up from their seats, moving towards him threateningly. Geoffrey could only stutter. For once, it seemed a CPU had outsmarted him, rather than the other way around.

Or had she?

After a moment, Geoffrey managed to get everyone to be silent again by shouting through his mic. "Everyone! Puh-lease! Each of you is clearly misunderstanding what Lady Black Heart is insinuating."

Black Heart, now an arm-length away from him, denied his claim. "I do believe they understand me well enough."

"N-no! Clearly, they do not, Lady Black Heart. Clearly they do not. Please, allow me to speak free of interruption for a moment."

Black Heart cocked a grin. "I'd like to see you weasel your way out of this one."

Clearing his throat, Geoffrey nodded. "Thank you, Lady Black Heart. Now, for each of you, I do believe some clarification is required. Yes, it is true that I was the last person to have seen Lady Black Sister. I do not deny it. But… Perhaps you all are forgetting that Black Sister and I travelled through Gamindustri on a quest four years ago. We were close friends."

"I'm sure you two were…" Black Heart commented mockingly.

"The reason Lady Black Heart is bringing this up with me is in fact because… Because she and I share a common pain. To this day, I, and perhaps Lady Black Heart too, ask myself one simple question. Why did she end her own life?"

Black Heart's jaw dropped for a moment. "I-... What?"

"Now, for Lady Black Heart, this person is her beloved sister. For me… Well, ahem… As you all know, a few years ago, my, uh… My wife, Lilith Belrose took her own life."

Black Heart stomped forward. "You're not serious here, are you?"

Geoffrey's voice was shaky while tears were filling his eyes. "My wife... * **S** **niff** * She was a good woman. One that did not deserve the faith that was brought upon her. And neither did Lady Black Sister deserve hers."

Stepping forward, Geoffrey put his hands on both of Black Heart's shoulders. "Lady Black Heart. I-... I am sorry for your loss. Everyone, may I ask of you a moment of silence for… For both the CPU Candidate of Lastation, Lady Black Sister: Uni, as well as for my beloved wife: Lilith Belrose."

Taking it one step further, Geoffrey embraced Black Heart in a tight hug. Of course, she wasn't going to just give up like that.

Pressing her hands against his chest, she pushed the man away, knocking him on his rear. "No! You honestly don't think anyone's going to believe your claim, do you?"

His eyes still misty, Geoffrey sadly looked up at the CPU. "What? Lady Black Heart? Do you-... Do you perhaps blame me for what happened to your sister, implying there was something I could have done because I was the last person she spoke to? B-but… But… * **Sniff** * … But… I-... I'm sorry. I-... I'm sorry... "

Black Heart nervously waved her hands before her slowly. "N-no that's not what I-"

The murmurs among the crowd stopped Black Heart from finishing her sentence. Nepgear could make out a few of them. Things like 'Lady Black Heart is so cold' and 'The Oracle is clearly in the right here'.

Clenching her teeth, Black Heart was forced to admit defeat. "Y-you… Grrraaagh… You just startled, alright? I didn't mean to push you like that. Come here!"

Sitting down beside him, Black Heart wrapped her arms around the man. While she probably wanted to do nothing but gut him for the sly weasel he was, doing so would've had serious consequences on her reputation. "Now, just like 'Mister' Lance requested, a moment of silence please."

Slowly, the entire crowd grew calm again. Not a single soul dared to speak up in this moment of respect. Through all odds, everyone fell right for the lie.

Once again, Geoffrey managed to slip right through their fingers.

During the silence, Nepgear heard Toby call out to IF quietly. "Hey. Pssst. IF," he whispered through his teeth. "I thought you said Geoffrey's wife died at the Gamindustri Graveyard. Did she sacrifice herself?"

IF sighed. Hissing back her response, she tried to be as quiet as possible. "I'll explain later. After Anarchy Arena… Assuming you'll live through it."

"Ah…" Was Toby's only response. Even Nepgear thought IF's final line was a little too much.

After a while, the announcer decided to break the silence in a respectful way. " _Thank you all very much for your respect. May the soul of Lastation's CPU candidate find a safe way to Celestia._ "

Black Heart finally let go of Geoffrey and jumped back into the ring, embarrassed, with a wide blush on her cheeks. "I… Hate… That man."

"D-don't worry Lady Noire," Compa reassured. "You'll get him next time."

"Tsk. Whatever. At least I got a large chunk of shares out of it. I can feel it… The people are putting their faith in me thanks to that ordeal… Somehow."

" _And now,_ " Heward began, " _it is time! For the! Real! Deal! Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready! Because it's not just an Arena."_

Each of the humans readied their weapons once more, ready for action.

" _It_ "

Blanc and Vert looked at each other, before nodding.

" _is"_

Nepgear firmly took her blade in hand once more, pointing it forward.

" _Anarchy_ "

Gates around the arena slowly creaked open, with several goons jumping on the platform. Tens… Fifties… Eventually hundreds.

" _ **A-re-naaaaaaaaaaaa**_ _. Here we go!"_

* * *

 **Anarchy Arena will be right back after this _short_ commercial break!**

 **Hey everyone. I know the story isn't progressing as fast as it should be. It's mostly because I decided to scrap something at the last minute in this chapter. Something pretty big, for that matter. It was right in the middle of the first round, so I decided to shove round one to the next chapter.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless. I'll be picking the pace back up eventually. You'll see CFW Magic make her first appearance in no time. Totally...**


	14. Chapter 14 - Making a Stand

**Remember when I said I scrapped something in the middle of this chapter in the previous AN? Yeah, it may or may not have resulted in an incredibly large chapter... Well, I'm sure no one's going to complain. Largest chapter yet, by the way. Have fun with that one. Anyway, let's get to those reviews.**

-To Broach Or To Put up: Don't worry about it. I'm more than happy you decided to take your time to drop one more review. If only more people followed your example... Just kidding, everyone. Anyway, glad you're still enjoying the story. Hope you'll love what I did with Toby this chapter because it's going to be... Crazy, I guess.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Making a Stand**

"Heads up, nerd!" the thug warned, charging straight at Toby with a knife raised above his head. Even with the warning, Toby barely managed to duck under his swing and reply with a swift slash against his attacker's leg. The thug dropped like a stone, crying out in pain as he wrapped his hands around his leg.

"That's twenty-four," Toby counted, staying alert for any other foes that might approach him.

While the CPUs had decided to stick together, Toby figured he'd only get in the way if he stayed too close to the chaos around them. Most of the contestants were here to fight them, after all, so Toby decided that the best way to stay alive was by simply going solo for a bit. Taking down any opponents that would notice him, rather than the other way around, was an excellent strategy. Of course, he still couldn't get himself to actually kill any of them, so he would always aim for their limbs, rather than any vitals.

He wasn't here for the thrill of the fight. He was here to survive. At all costs.

Everyone else was having their own struggles The only one beside Toby who hadn't killed anyone yet was Compa, but she hadn't even laid as much as a finger on anyone to begin with. She was too busy keeping everyone on her team around her at one hundred percent.

IF and Falcom were in a similar situation to Toby. They weren't exactly trying to kill anyone, but there was the occasional miss-step of accidentally pushing an opponent or two over the edge, resulting in their slimey grave. While at first Toby wondered if they cared at all, they were clearly showing signs of disgust and regret.

The CPUs, with the exception of Nepgear, were practically going all out. Without even breaking a sweat, they easily cut through any opponent dumb enough to fight them head on. Black Heart especially was the one who managed to take down the most goons. The kills varied from clean to messy, but regardless of method, each blow was swift and brutal.

Toby checked his watch. "Shit… Not even ten minutes? Yeesh… Ugh. Not like it's been much a challenge yet anyway. These thugs don't know the first thing about fighting it seems."

During this time, the arena had somewhat turned into a crimson swamp with the bodies of their enemies sprinkled around it. Most of the enemies any of the CPUs had taken care of would end up in the pit below. Despite not having checked the pit, Toby could tell the Dogoo's were practically having a feast tonight. He did his best to avoid breathing in the acrid, choking fog slowly rising, a byproduct of the feasting slimes from below.

"Imma mess ya up, boy!" A thug suddenly cried, pulling Toby out of his train of thought. Performing an overhead swing with a simple frying pan, the tall thug almost managed to land the blow. Toby stepped backwards and deflected the tool out of his hand with a single flourish of his blade. "W-what the...!?"

Toby sighed, kicking the pan in the pit below. "I mean, seriously. Do you guys have any combat training? Like, do you people do anything other than sit in an alley and look mean to people that are passing by?"

The thug gritted his teeth. "S-shut up! I don't wanna hear it from a shrimp, yo!"

Rolling his eyes, Toby balled a fist and hit the goon right in his solar plexus. Losing his wind, the goon dropped to his knees and folded up in a fetal position.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay down," Toby advised, turning his back to the man and walking away.

Toby silently put his off-hand on his hip. Looking at the Goddesses once more, he almost felt jealous they got so much attention. Or rather, he felt like he was being heavily underestimated. Or perhaps he overestimated how bad this would go for him.

"Honestly, I expected this to go way worse. I mean, when Vert told me the pirate captain from back then was pretty mild compared to the rest, I imagined there would be tons and tons of brutal fighters around here… Hum… Looks like Nepgear's free at the moment."

Quickly checking his surroundings once more, Toby rushed towards the Candidate. "Heya, Nepgear. You doing okay?"

Nepgear forced half a smile when she saw the teen. The corners of her mouth were twitching, but it was enough to fool him. She also had a few scratches on her, but nothing serious. "I'm doing pretty well. Thanks for asking. Compa's been taking good care of us all. These guys don't seem that tough. I expected there to be stronger challengers."

"Me too," Compa added, suddenly joining in on the conversation. "But maybe we are just too strong for misters bad men to do anything. I'm not even halfway through my bandages yet."

Toby wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I mean, that's pretty good. No one's got a hit on me yet… Not going to jinx it, though."

Out of the corner of his eye, Toby spotted the silhouette of a woman. Or perhaps a slim man, maybe?

The silhouette was pointing something at Compa.

Toby instinctively pushed the nurse aside. He was just a little too slow to get out of the way himself, though.

Clenching his teeth and sucking air through them, Toby reached for his right shoulder. "Nggh… T-that… Oww…"

Looking up, Compa had already begun attending his wound, while Nepgear held her blade up, facing the shooter.

"Don't worry Toby," Compa reassured, taking out a few bandages from… Wait… Where exactly? "I'll have you patched up real soon, okay?"

Her hands moved quickly, from disinfecting the wound to actually wrapping the bandage around it, healing the simple injury was like second nature to the nurse.

"Alright, I've taken care of all of your boo boo's. Do you still feel any pain?"

Raising himself to his feet, Toby stretched his arm. To his surprise, the pain was gone. As if it was never there to begin with. "It's completely gone… Whoa, great job Compa. How'd you manage to do that so quickly?"

"Like I said, I'm a professional nurse. If my magic doesn't work quick enough, Nep-Nep and the others might end up getting hurt even more."

"Haaa!" Nepgear's battlecry snapped Compa and Toby back into the battle. While the Candidate was agile, her opponent was always one step ahead of her. A slim figure, wearing a ragged cloak over her red latex suit. Her face was obscured by her hood.

The figure, wielding a set of crossbows on her wrists, shot with pinpoint accuracy, making it difficult for Nepgear to get close enough. Unlike someone like Blanc, Nepgear couldn't risk taking any hits.

Nepgear jumped back to her two friends, allowing Compa to immediately cast a healing spell on her. Toby raised his blade and stepped forward. "So much for this being a cakewalk…"

Nepgear thanked Compa before also returning her attention to her opponent. Holding her blade firmly, she pointed it forward, holding her finger on its trigger. "This opponent is strong… But I won't back down!"

The figure stood there unmovingly. Frozen in place, looking terrifyingly calm. "This kill… Might not be as clean as the others," she spoke. Her voice was cold. Refined, like that of a lady. But with little to no emotion behind it.

Toby turned to Nepgear, quietly explaining his plan to her. "I think I got something. Try to keep her busy. Compa and I will sneak up on her from behind. Right, Compa?... C-Compa?"

Compa, about a dozen yards away from the two, was carefully patching up Falcom. From the looks of it, she would've been busy for quite some time. She mouthed something among the lines of 'sorry, I've got my hands full at the moment'.

"... Right. Same plan, okay?"

Nepgear nodded. "Alright. Here I go!"

She dashed forward valiantly, swiftly evading any pod-shots her opponent threw at her. When she got close enough, Nepgear raised her blade and brought it down, but her opponent caught it by crossing both her weapons against it.

With sparks flying off their clashing weapons, Nepgear pushed forward, catching a wince out of the woman.

While Nepgear had her locked down, Toby quickly circled around them in a wide arc. There were a few tugs along the way, but they were easily dispatched of.

"So. Many. Enemies. Get outta here!" Toby cried in frustration, kicking the last one in her gut. As she stumbled backwards, she slipped on what seemed like nothing and fell down one of the holes in the arena.

Toby's heart skipped a beat as he realised he had accidentally killed someone. "W-whoops. I, uh… Err..."

Alternating his look between Nepgear and the hole, Toby hesitated a little before shaking his head. "Tsk… God… Fucking, damn it."

Quickly rushing back to Nepgear's aide, Toby readied his blade. Performing a diagonal slash against her back, the cloaked woman flinched, breaking her deadlock with Nepgear. "Ngaagh!"

Nepgear immediately pulled back, following up with one of her specials. "Take this! Mirage Dance!"

The hooded woman wasn't going to let her end it so easily, though. Leaping up and evading the attack, she bounced off the back of the Candidate's head, pushing her right in Toby's arms. "W-whoa there. I got you!"

Nepgear quickly recovered. Spreading her wings, she flew up a few feet. "Good going, Toby. We've got her on the ropes. One more hit and she's done for…"

The woman, knelt down, was visibly exhausted. Her back moved up and down as she breathed heavily. Toby's single hit surely must've done a number on her. If it wasn't for her suit, Toby would probably have been able to tell whether or not she was bleeding.

She probably wears red so bad guys can't see her bleed.

"I doubt the same strategy is going to work again," Toby pointed out. "I suggest you stay back, charge one of your specials and take her down as I act as bait."

"Right!"

"Nepgear!"

The sudden cry of Green Heart caught both Nepgear's as well as Toby's attention. While she herself was stuck in a deadlock with a rather grotesque biker, she gestured towards the other side of the arena. There, IF was surrounded by dozens of men near the edge of the platform. If no one stepped in to help, she surely would take the fall.

"So much for your bravado, huh, _Iffy_ ," Toby murmured. Turning his gaze back to Nepgear, she gave him a look of concern.

Her look alone was enough to get the message through. She needed to go and help her. But doing so would leave Toby all alone to fight against a formidable foe. Something she couldn't bear to do without his permission.

With a single nod, Toby gave his approval. He wouldn't want to be the one responsible for IF's demise. She may have been a complete prick to him, but for Nepgear's, and probably everyone else's sake, there shouldn't be another death in the mix.

Dashing to her friend's aid, Toby was left to deal with the assassin. "Right… Just us then…"

The woman got back on her feet. "How brave of you to face me alone. And how very unlike you, Orange Outplay."

"You-... I'm sorry, have we met before?"

The woman lowered her hood, revealing her face. She was old, estimated to be roughly in her sixties. Her hair was as pale as her wrinkled face. Never before had Toby seen someone as old as her in all of Gamindustri. "Never in person, my boy. Never in person. But, considering what you've taken from me, it is only natural I look into what I'm up against."

Toby raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

The woman's expression furrowed as she reloaded her crossbow. "Hmph. I would expect no less from someone as green as you. Perhaps this will remind you… Do you remember my brother Tommy?"

Toby shook his head, receiving an annoyed sigh from the woman.

"His 'friends' used call him Captain Nook. Any bells ringing in that busted cranium of yours?"

"Err… Well…" The back of Toby's throat felt pretty dry all of the sudden. "I _may_ have had a say in the matter…"

"Security footage doesn't lie, boy. You took his life… And for that, I, Lady Anna 'Rosé' Carmina will return the favor to you in full."

Toby hesitantly took a few steps back. " _Oh god, this is not gonna end well. Quick Tobias. Think… Think… Err… Bluff. A bluff worked last time around. I'm sure it will work again… Wait, did it work last time? Ack. Whatever. No time for that. Just go!"_

Taking a deep breath, Toby stuttered his bluff. "S-still… I doubt you'll be a match for me with an injury like that."

If Lady Rosé was capable of smiling, she'd have smirked. "You're right. Whatever should I do with an injury like this."

"... I don't like the way you said that."

Taking a small chip from out of her hammer space, she held it up and called for every fighter's attention. "Ahem. Your attention please… Tut-tut. Attention, everyone."

Most of the thugs that weren't fighting were now gazing that the chip held between her fingers, curious as what it might be.

"... Seven. Hundred. And fifty _million_ credits for the one that can deliver me the head of that boy." She loosely pointed her index finger in Toby's direction. As the thugs slowly followed the trail, their gaze fixated on Toby, each of them looking rather murderous.

"W-what!?" Toby stammered, looking around at his allies. Unfortunately for him, each of them were still dealing with their own problems.

"750 Million credits!? That's nuts!" one of the thugs exclaimed.

"And that's the bounty put on the lil' shithead? Hell yeah, I'm in!"

"Not if I beat you to him! The Orange turd is mine!"

"Who cares who gets the kill? Work together, get the kill, get the money. Capiche, boys?"

"Right!"

Over a dozen men that had heard the message were now all riled up to take Toby down. Up until now, he had to fight three at the same time at most. This may have been a few too many to handle for him alone.

The one tug that had decided to take charge held his tomahawk up, rallying the others with it. "Alright! Once we get him, drinks are on me!"

Looking over his shoulder, Toby quickly looked for a way out. Considering he was stuck between the edge and a hole in the arena, his only way out would have been through the horde of enemies.

"Alright, everyone! Chaaarge!"

Wiping the sweat from his head, Toby raised his blade shakily. "Oh god, I hate my life!" he cried.

When the horde got close enough, they quickly surrounded him, their weapons at the ready.

"Alright, boy. Let's play a little, shall we?"

"Yeah… I wanna savour this one. Let's make him our boy toy..."

At first, they would lunge at him one by one, hoping they would get the jump on him. But despite his situation, Toby managed to keep his opponents at bay. He even managed to take a few down by landing a single decisive blow on them. Perks of being a fencer, you only need one good hit to take down an opponent.

But he couldn't keep his pace forever. He was getting overwhelmed. And quickly so. Soon enough, the thugs were losing patience, jumping him in larger groups of at least four to six men at once.

Taking hits all over, Toby was left at their mercy. While he managed to thin the number quite a bit, in the end, it wasn't enough to keep him from falling.

"Hey Orange! Kneel!"

Toby turned to the voice, but right as he did, he felt an incredible pain surge through the back of his knee. Off balance, Toby feel flat on the ground.

Breathing heavily, Toby made an attempt to get up, but was held down by the foot of one the goons pressed against his back. "So… What do we do with 'em now?"

"Err… I dunno man. Toss him over the edge, I guess?"

"... Eh. Whatever, man. I don't wanna be the one that gets ' _has decapitated a child_ ' on their resume."

Toby's eyes went wide with shock. "W-wait… N-no! P-... * **cough** * Please! I-... Whoa!"

Getting grabbed by the back of his collar, Toby was tossed to the edge of the arena with his weapon stripped of him. With the few remaining men surrounding him, Toby felt hopeless.

Peeking over his shoulder, Toby looked down. The gooey pit of death below looked messy and _very_ red, so to say.

"Hey everyone, look. I'm a pirate!" Joked the thug that held Toby at the point of his blade, flourishing Toby's own rapier before his eyes. "Yo-ho-ho. I shall keelhaul thou, landlubber!"

Unamused, Toby deadpanned. "You're... Not funny. Just sad… You know…"

The thug grinned happily. "Aww, boo hoo. Little landlubber gonna cry me a river. Tell you what. If you survive the fall, I'll share all the money me and the boys are getting from Lady Rosé. Deal?"

Toby said nothing. Instead, he looked for the others. Namely the CPUs. He wondered where on Earth they had gone and why none of them had stepped yet. Did they even care about him?

"... Right," the thug continued in a joking tone. "I'll take your silence as your way of saying 'yes mister Hercule, that deal sounds fair', okay? Yeah? Okay?"

"Shut up... " Toby softly mumbled.

Another tug stepped closer. "Hey! Do I see a tear sparkling in those pretty, girly eyes of you? D'aww. He's totally crying. Someone get this little girl a hug."

Toby clenched his teeth. "Shut up…"

Yet another tug stepped forward, laughing loudly. "Ohohoh! He's totally broke! It's almost unfortunate we gotta kill him. He looks so pathetic, I wish I had my camera… Oh, who am I kidding? The _whooole_ world gets to see you for the crybaby you are! Ohohoh!"

Balling a fist, something snapped inside of Toby. He felt angry. Furious. Unlike before, these men didn't sound like your common street thug. They were actually enjoying this; they loved bullying others for the sake of it. It's either do or die now.

"I've had enough..." Toby softly mumbled. The tug holding his blade raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Did you say something?"

Almost whispering, Toby spoke. "Leave me alone..."

The thug leaned in closer. "Wha? Hey, scream louder, will ya? I can't hear you over the sound of your own failure."

"Nnnghh..."

Pressing his hand against the back of his ear, the thug was only a few inches away from Toby's mouth. "Okay, seriously, what are you saying?"

Inhaling slowly through his nose, Toby raised his voice. "Shut. **Up**!"

Butting his head against that of the thug, Toby swiped his blade out of his hand and pulled him over the edge by his arm.

The others realised Toby still had a little fight in him quickly drew their weapons.

The first was a woman, wielding a cleaver. Swinging it sideways, Toby ducked under it and pierced her stomach. Pushing her aside, his next opponent charged forward, swinging down a mace. Sidestepping, Toby pressed the tip against his midsection, slicing his blade upwards. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

Before his next opponent could strike, a single bolt grazed the teen's cheek. It was Lady Rosé's, taking matters into her own hands.

Distracted, Toby was quickly ambushed by his next foe. "I got you now, scum!"

Holding him by the wrists, the thug pushed Toby back, slowly to the edge once more.

Quickly twisting his arms, Toby pulled the thug sidewards and tripped him over the edge! "Go away!"

Just before the final goon got close enough, Toby felt something cold pierce his shoulder. Another bolt fired by Lady Rosé. Dropping flat on his face, Toby couldn't force his legs to take another step.

"Whoa kid," the goon spoke, sounding half impressed. "Didn't think you had it in you to actually completely smoke all my buddies… Welp. More credits for me, I guess."

"He's mine!" Lady Rosé exclaimed from a distance. "Move. Or perish alongside him."

Crossing her arms, Lady Rosé's eyes began to glow along with both her weapons. She was charging up a special attack of some sort.

The goon sighed. "Bah. Really? Fine. Whatevs… Hey. Kiddo." The goon knelt down to meet Toby at eye level. "Lady Rosé is gonna kill you now with her signature Hail of Petals. Heard she fires like a hundred bolts at you with it. They stick to you and stuff… Honestly, it would be more brutal if they went right through you or whatever, but what can I do, right? Have fun with that, okay?"

Looking down, Toby cursed at his blade. " _... Why did I come here without anything other than just a single blade!? Why couldn't I just bring a shield or something?_ "

His eyes trailed up slowly. "If only I had a shield…"

The goon got back up, shrugging. "Oh well. Guess you'll be a pincushion then."

"If only… A shield… A shield!" Slowly, his eyes wandered towards the final goon. Biting back bile at what he was about to do, Toby took in a breath.

Clenching his fist, Toby put a little pressure on his legs. While sore, they could go for one final sprint.

"Welp… Catch you later, Orange," the goon laughed, about to walk out of the way.

"Behold, my final move-" Lady Rosé cried, pointing both crossbows forward.

"Haaaaaaa!" Toby quickly rose to his feet, grappling the goon around his waist. "Hey what are you- whoa!"

Pushing him forward, he ducked behind the goon, slowly making his way to Lady Rosé.

"Hail of Petals!" she bellowed, as several shots echoed through the air.

Toby recoiled slightly as the bolts pierced his meatshield's back. But he couldn't afford to care, not with death this close.

Only when Toby felt no more bolts impact the 'shield', he dropped it and charged forward, where Lady Rosé awaited, wide-eyed. She bent her knees to jump away, but as she had only reached a few feet above the ground, Toby grappled her by her ankle and dragged her back down, knocking her flat on her back.

The woman rolled over, covering her midsection with her arms, gasping for air in a panic. "G-gack!... Nnggghh… W-why you-... Grrr..."

Toby ensured Lady Rosé would not get back up again. Using the tip of his blade, he made a small diagonal incision across her upper right leg. One deep enough to cripple her entirely.

Exhausted, Toby's heart was pounding. Still holding on to her ankle, he dragged her to him and quickly tore the credits chip from her fingers.

With his rapier raised, Toby was ready to finish Lady Rosé off. "The final kill of the slaughter..."

"..." Lady Rosé only closed her eyes.

"The… Final… K-... Kill…" Toby stumbled over his own words. Slowly lowering his blade again, he began looking for the thugs that had previously surrounded him. He could only find a handful of them littering the grounds of the arena. They laid there. Unmoving. A few were face down in a crimson puddle. And those were the ones he didn't toss over the edge. Toby suddenly felt the shock and revulsion of what he had just done catch up to him. Looking back down, the elderly woman looked as emotionless as before, except this time, it almost looked like she was asking him to end it.

Looking around the entire arena, there were very few men left standing, none of which seemed to have taken any interest in him. His allies, on the other hand, were still mostly unharmed thanks to Compa's care.

Toby's gaze lowered to his own clothes. They were stained crimson. Torn, by the thugs that had abused him. Nothing about them felt right anymore.

Silently, Toby processed what he had just done. What had just happened. What he was about to do.

He turned his back on Lady Rosé.

"You're not worth it."

Taking a few steps back to the edge the thugs had previously kept him, he lowered his head.

Exhausted, he dropped himself to his rear. Sitting on the edge of the arena, with his legs dangling off of the edge he felt his eyes burn. Burying his face in his hands, a single tear rolled over his cheek. Followed by another. And another. And another.

Silently lamenting, Toby let it all out for minutes on end. Every emotion he had bottled up so far, it didn't matter anymore. He had long passed the point of no return.

"Why did it have to be… Like this…?"

Wiping his eyes, Toby sighed sadly. This was probably just about what he was expecting to happen when he first stepped into the ring.

"Siri…" Toby quietly spoke the name, raising his wrist to his mouth.

* **Bleep** * " _What is it, Nifty?_ " his watch asked in her usual robotic voice.

"I want you to set a new reminder for me."

" _Sure. What would you like me to remind you of?_ "

"Remind me to-… I want you to remind me of two things. First, remind me I should _never_ play hero again."

* **Bleep** * " _Noted._ "

"Second… Remind me to kick IF in the gut. Hard. With one of those steel toe boots. After drinking at least three STR Boosters."

* **Bleep Bleep** * " _Reminders set._ "

Toby turned his watch off and sighed once more. He then felt a hand rest on his shoulder. It was warm, softly holding him. He didn't look up to check who it belonged to. He didn't care. Nor did he want to know.

"Hey… You okay? You look like shit..." White Heart asked in a concerned tone. Blanc… The second to last person he didn't want to speak with.

"... I would rather have it you left me alone." Toby mumbled.

White Heart refused to listen to his plead and sat down beside him.

Toby sighed again. "... Go away. I hate you. You hate me. We both hate each other. So just… Go. Away."

"I never said anything like that. Besides, I haven't forgotten you picked me out of the others as a potential soulmate. I'm sure you wouldn't have picked me if you hated me that much, right?"

Toby clicked his tongue. "Times change. Besides, I just picked you because I was afraid what would've happened if I didn't. Now scram. Please. Just leave me be already. I don't _want_ your help."

White Heart said nothing. Surely, this would get her to leave him be, right?

Contrary to his expectations, White Heart undid her HDD and turned back to her human form.

Clearing her throat, the CPU shuffled a little closer to the teen, much to his annoyance. Toby could tell he wasn't the only one holding in his anger. "Even so… Well, look. I'm sorry for not being able to step in earlier."

Toby's eyes shot up to meet Blanc's. While this was the first time he had ever heard her tell him she's sorry, he didn't fail to spot her implication. She was well aware he was surrounded, getting beaten up by all those thugs, yet she couldn't find a single opportunity to come to his aid? "... Fuck you. That's just bull... And you know it..."

Blanc's eyes slightly widened along with her mouth going agape. "Wow… You really don't have a good image of me, do you? I'm serious. I really wanted to come and help you, but they were about to drag Compa over the edge. I had to decide!"

Rolling his eyes, Toby looked the other way. "I'm sure all six of you were too busy helping Compa then, huh?"

Blanc winced, slamming her hand against the steel platform. "I don't know what the others were doing! But it wasn't right of them to just abandon you like that."

"Story of my fucking life," Toby retorted.

"Look… There's something I've been meaning to tell you since that speech you gave in the locker room."

Toby sheepishly waved his hand. "I didn't mean any of it. I don't think any of you are heroes. You're just pricks. Heroes don't butcher dozens of people like they're just stupid cattle."

Blanc sighed. Visibly counting to ten, she calmed herself once again. "Can you let me finish? Please?" She took Toby's hand and held it.

Looking at the CPU, he could tell she was seriously trying her best. "Tsk. Go on."

"Thank you. Now, first of all… You're an idiot… You're the biggest idiot in all of Gamindustri for signing that contract back in Planeptune. You weren't ready to be thrown into the deep with us and we shouldn't have dragged you along with us."

Toby frowned, but said nothing. He promised he would let her finish, and so he would.

"... But when you came out of that bathroom, back in the hotel, all scared and looking like a coward, I figured you would just run off like a little girl."

Toby clenched his teeth. "I'm losing my patience, Blanc," he hissed.

Blanc smiled faintly as she continued. "But then when you gave your speech, it hit me. You're probably the bravest kid in all of Gamindustri."

Toby's expression lightened up. "... What?"

Blanc's grasp on his hand tightened. Balling a fist with her other hand, she gave him a determined look. "You're fighting people that are way out of your league. You knew that this was gonna get rough and yet you're still here: fighting for everyone. Fighting for my sisters. That takes some serious balls, kid. The likes of which most people can only dream of. Not only that, but you've literally been surrounded by people that keep rejecting you. I overheard your little talk with IF… I honestly didn't think she was gonna be such a jerk about it."

The compliment caught Toby off-guard. He didn't how to respond, so he simply averted his gaze. He wasn't sure what his face looked like.

"But… I just want to say… Thank you." Blanc's smile felt sincere. Like she was a completely different person. One that actually accepted him.

Toby hesitated. Her honest thanks felt refreshing, but they felt misguided. "I'm not here for Rom or Ram. I'm here so I can go home. I've nearly died more times this month alone than in my entire life."

Blanc shuffled even closer. If Toby didn't know better, he would think she was trying to make an impression on him. Of course, that would be ridiculous, considering he had called her a tyrant just last night. "I dunno about that one. About a week ago, IF told me you were really bummed out when she kicked you out of the party. Not because you wanted to fight or anything. But because you really wanted to help us out."

"... Times change," Toby groaned.

Blanc sighed. Letting go of his hand, she got back on her feet. "Alright, I get it. You're really pissed we treated you this way up until now and you can't let go yet. But you've proven yourself more than useful."

She offered her hand, holding it out before Toby. "For probably the first time in my entire life, I'm accepting it. We were jerks and you were better off without us. But I promise you, after this is done, we'll make up to you… Somehow. Okay? Even if you don't want to fight for us, fight to see your girlfriend again, alright?"

Toby stared at her hand. He then slapped it away. "Very funny… I don't have a girlfriend."

Blanc's eyes narrowed. Slowly shaking her head, she looked at the teen in confusion. "... What are you talking about? That girl, Lithyum, she-"

"She rejected me," Toby interjected bluntly. "Straight up. This morning."

"... Damn. Your life really is just crap after shit, huh?"

Toby averted his eyes. "You're a part of it. So don't remind me."

Holding her hand out once more, Blanc tried one final time to help him up. Toby wanted to refuse once more, but by now, even he was getting tired of rebelling. Other than that, this was probably the first time she wasn't raging at him. Best not let this opportunity slide

Accepting her offer, she pulled him back on his feet, giving him a faint smile as she turned her HDD back on. "There. Now, let's get you patched up. There's still some time before Noire's done toying with the last guys."

At the other side of the ring, two men held their blade against Black Heart. She smirked haughtily, evading their attacks like it was nothing. With these men being the last contenders, the round still wasn't over yet. A few Valkyries had already started collecting the bodies of the living, as well as the dead, cleaning any remains they would leave. The arena was already looking much less gruesome once more.

* * *

"Yeesh… Talk about cutting it close," IF complained to herself, cleaning her qatars. With the round as good as over, she decided to take a breather. While Black Heart was having her own idea of fun with the two remaining thugs, IF wanted to do a quick checkup on everyone. She had already gotten to Green Heart, so next would be Falcom.

"You holding up, Falcom?" IF asked as she approached.

Falcom sternly turned to her, still clinging to her blade. "Oh, IF. Glad to see you're doing fine. That was a seriously tough battle."

"Yeah, no kidding," IF agreed as she offered a Nep Bull EX. Falcom took it and downed the drink in a near instant. "Honestly, once we get home, the first thing I'll do is take off my coat, my shirt, my everything and take a nice, hot shower. Pretty sure we all reek of sweat and blood by the end of this."

"Are you implying we don't already?" Falcom half joked, trying to lighten the mood.

IF smiled briefly. "Speak for yourself. I haven't even started yet. C'mon. Let's see if the rest is holding up."

Nepgear suddenly dropped from above and stood beside Falcom.

"Oh. Hey Gear. Thanks for saving my ass earlier. Still doing fine?"

Nepgear nodded. "Yes. I was about to ask you and Falcom the same. But you two look like you're doing just fine."

"Don't underestimate us humans," Falcom proudly bragged with one hand on her hip. "We're a lot tougher than you might think."

"We wouldn't have asked you to join us if you were incapable," Green Heart spoke, popping out of nowhere, as she usually does. IF wondered why or how she keeps doing it. "Regardless, I suggest we regroup with the others. It seems like Noire's almost done having her fun."

Everyone returned to Compa, which looked panicked as she tended to Toby's wounds. With White Heart standing over them, having her natural poker face on, IF was naturally curious what had her childhood friend so troubled.

"Huh. What's bugging you Compa? You look like you've seen a ghost."

The nurse didn't look up from her work. Her hands moved quickly with utmost precision, taking care of Toby's injuries as well as she could. All the while, she mumbled things like "oh nowwie!" or "oh dear…"

It seemed like she hadn't to hadn't heard IF ask. "This is a first… Hey, Lady Blanc's what's up with Compa?"

White Heart shrugged. "Yeah, about that… In short, Toby got seriously beaten up and Compa doesn't have the proper items to completely patch him up."

IF quickly examined Toby. There were quite a few holes in his pants, as well as in his shirt. There also were a few rips around the waist of his body warmer. To top it all off, there was a single steel bolt stuck in his left shoulder. "Why hasn't Compa taken the bolt out yet?"

"I can't," Compa softly responded without looking up from her patient. "If I do, it will only make the wound worse. If I had just a few more lacerations with me and a few more bandages, I might've been able to… But I used too many on Lady Vert."

Green Heart awkwardly chuckled. "Eheh… That biker was… Really something else. But I am thankful for your aid, Compa."

"Anyway," Compa continued, applying her final bandage, "I've to disinfected the wound as well as stop the bleeding. I may not be able to remove the bolt, but as long you don't overexert yourself, you should be fine."

"That's her way of saying you're out of the game," White Heart clarified, helping both Compa and Toby back up. "Just stand behind us. We can clean this mess up just fine."

Toby was quiet. Using his right hand, he massaged his shoulder. He looked rather annoyed. IF presumed it was because he was no longer able to fight.

" _Why am I not surprised he's the first one to be down?_ " IF wondered. " _Whatever. I haven't really paid attention to him, but I'm sure he did his best. Probably even more, considering he's only got one foot in the grave."_

Falcom stepped forward, gesturing a thumbs-up. "It's okay, Toby. You did your best and that's what counts. Just let us do the rest, alright?"

Toby practically deadpanned at her, looking anything but content with this. "Alright. Just be careful, okay? Don't end up like me," he almost mockingly joked.

Falcom's attitude remained positive. "Don't you worry. We'll be extra careful."

" _And that's game!"_ the announcer Hew exclaimed, followed by an air horn sound effect, indicating the end of the round. Black Heart flew back and regrouped with the others. There was not a single scratch on her entire body. And IF was pretty sure Compa hadn't healed her beforehand.

" _What a spectacular round that was!_ " Hew continued as the crowd cheered. " _Indeed, I could barely keep up with all the action. And-... Err… Oh… Greese, you're back?"_

The sounds of someone noisily stomping into the booth and sitting down could be heard over the mic. " _Yeah, sorry about that. I just called my psychiatrist and he convinced me to come back… It was either come back or rob another grocery store._ "

" _Grocery stores? Greese, you've gone soft. Weren't you charged for murder last year?_ "

" _Aaanyway,_ " Greese awkwardly coughed, tapping his mic a few times. " _I'm back now. What did I miss? Give me a quick recap_."

" _Riiight. Uh, so, in short, Lady Black Heart destroyed about a fourth of all contestants, Orange got beaten into a pulp but managed to get out in a pretty highlight-worthy way, and finally, Lady White Heart showed why you don't mess with the White Mage of the party… Seriously, just thinking about it is making my nose hurt."_

" _... Brutal,_ " was the only word Greese could muster.

" _Brutal indeed. Brutal and awesome. But not as awesome as what we have in store for you in round two. Everyone, please-_ "

The stage lights around the arena dimmed, creating a moody atmosphere. The entire audience went quiet as some heroic music began to play."

 **BGM: Gun Goddess Miss Fortune - League of Legends**

" _-it is time. For round two of Anarchy Arena."_

Four figures approached the arena, each from a different direction. Each and every one of them was framed in shadow.

" _After nearly ten years of their absence, they finally return to stride once more. To prove themselves again, as the champions of the sixth Anarchy Arena. The first Team Arena we ever did. Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you-_ "

A spotlight lit up, revealing one of the contestants. A skinny man in a lab coat, wielding an oversized syringe, similar to Compa's.

" _Doctooor Ludwig!"_

The crowd went wild as soon as the announcer presented him, chanting his name loudly.

The second spotlight lit up, presenting a woman, posing like she was laughing haughtily. With her fancy dress, she looked like someone with a wealthy background.

" _The charming Lady Amethyst._ "

The third spotlight turned on, showing a boy, roughly around Toby's age. Wearing a cyan blue hoodie, he had his back turned to the centre stage.

" _The Blue God of Death himself, Lord Edge! And finally… The man of the hour. The badass leader of the group. Ladies and Gentlemen, here he is!_ "

The fourth and final spotlight flashed on, revealing the identity of the final fighter. With both his fists on his hips, the caped man smiled heroically. Proudly looming over the arena. He was dressed like a movie star.

" _The Captain himself! Captain Moran!"_

The four members jumped down into the ring in sync, quickly running to the centre. Standing together, the captain took out a microphone and spoke as he were some hero. "United we stand, united we fall. By our sides, fight for a brighter future! Because we are-"

The four stood together, posing as if they had rehearsed it many times. With a few fireworks going off, introductory text appeared out of thin air.

* * *

エマールエリート：誇り高き戦士たち

 **The Emal Elites**

Emāru Erīto — Hokori Takaki Senshi-Tachi

* * *

The crowd went mad with excitement, screaming at an ear-deafening tone. Whoever these elites were, they were popular with the viewers.

" _No way, Hew!_ " Greese exclaimed in awe. " _We managed to get the Emal Elites back into the ring after ten years? Holy… Shit… This. Is. The._ _ **Best**_ _. I remember when I lost to these guys back in my day. Those were good times."_

" _Good times indeed, Greese,_ " Hew responded. " _And now they are back to prove themselves once more. It's Emal Elites against Goddesses. A veteran fighting team against undying heroes. Who will win? Who will fall? Find out now!_ "

The CPUs redrew their weapons, getting ready for action.

Black Heart snickered. "I remember these wannabe Nepu Rangers. This is going to be fun."

IF felt unsure. Taking out one of her qatars, she was uncertain if she could still stand up against these opponents after what she had just gone through. "Welp… Guess we'll find out…" She murmured.

" _Nobody blink! Because it's not just an arena. It. Is. Anarchy.A-re-naaaaa, round two! Here we go!"_

* * *

 **Well that certainly was something else.**

 **Hey there. Before I end things off, I do want to clarify one thing about the while middle bit with Toby. I don't want you to get the impression he's just moaning about getting his hands dirty for once. Just remember that anything from chapter 9 to this chapter happened in the last 24 hours... I'm mentioning this because it's probably been about a couple of months since most of you have read it.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys had a good read. Until next time!**

 **(Also kudos to everyone that caught every reference. This chapter was jammed with subtle jokes.)**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Emal Enigma

**Hum... Last time I uploaded a week after a previous chapter's release I disappeared for about five weeks. Let's hope that doesn't happen again.**

 **Anyway... Whoa. Reviews. I'm sure the amount of reviews I've been getting is... Is... I dunno, more than ever before? I'm not complaining. Keep reviewing, peeps.**

-Shadicgon: As always, I'm happy you enjoyed the first round. Sure, it was mild when it comes to the brutality, but I know going too far can turn more people off than it would be to their liking. I've learnt my lesson from Ch 7 (the Uni stuff). While I'm not against the idea of killing off a main character, I don't think it should happen every two minutes either (without giving any spoilers). I think I'll leave you hanging on your other questions though. Just wait and see ;)

-Kirigiriko: ... Who held a gun against your head to make you binge read my story? Just kidding. Hearing you say that is actually really nice. I'm just perplexed anyone would take their time go through every chapter from start to finish _and_ write a positive review like yours.

Anyway, you do raise an interesting point. Toby's sudden tone shift was a little different in my original draft of the story. I decided to alter it a little and I don't want to say it, but I think previous chapters may have missed the mark at some points. But I can assure you, even if I regret some of the choices, I've already begun redirecting Toby down a better path. Same with the guy above, you'll have to wait and see.

Finally, to round off this far too long response... I think I can make you pretty happy by telling you that Rei might shine next chapter. Wink Wink.

-To Broach Or To Put up: Didn't Toby mumble something about feeling bad for only having a blade and not having something like, I dunno, something to protect himself with...? What spoiler?

 **And that's the reviews... I should really learn how to write shorter responses... Right... Without further interruption...**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: The Emal Enigma**

* * *

エマールエリート：誇り高き戦士たち

 **The Emal Elites**

Emāru Erīto — Hokori Takaki Senshi-Tachi

* * *

Black Heart's eyes narrowed. " _Hmm… These guys look familiar_ ," she thought, readying her blade. " _Pretty sure Kei and I watched that year's Anarchy Arena together… I would've tried to put a stop to it with the others if it wasn't for my damn cold that day…_ "

Smirking, Black Heart snickered. "I remember these wannabe Nepu Rangers. This is going to be fun."

Black Heart was ready for the fight. Running her hand through her hair, she caught glimpses of the others. They looked about as ready as they ever could be. Except for Toby. He had decided to back off to the far edge of the arena. It was probably for the best that he would not get involved anymore, considering his injuries.

The Emal Elites, each still in their pose, moved to a neutral stance. Captain Moran stepped forward, his cape waving dramatically in the non-existent wind. "It is an honour meeting each of you, Ladies!" he exclaimed heroically. "But CPUs or not, we are obligated to trash you to upkeep our honour!"

Black Heart's expression remained unchanged. Listening to every word he spoke, she decided to let him finish his little monologue.

Pointing his finger forward valiantly, Captain Moran continued his speech. "We have a name to keep! We have a title to hold! We are the champions of the sixth Anarchy Arena. I am Captain Moran, and I am the proud leader of the Emal Elites! Ain't that right, everyone?"

"Right you are, Morry," The woman in the fancy purple dress, Lady Amethyst, spoke. Her voice was clean, like that of a singer. She drew a sceptre from her hammerspace. The handle sparkled with several amethysts embed to it, while the point-end had a large ruby stuck to it. "We will shatter them, like a diamond crashing against glass."

"Hmph. I serve no one, but myself," The muscular teen, Edge snarled, whipping out two sickles. Much like Lady Amethyst, his weapon had sapphires embed to the handle. "I will harvest their souls with my _scythes_."

Doctor Ludwig only silently nodded, his eyebrows furrowed. Holding on to his syringe, he took a few steps back to stand behind the others.

Having received confirmation from each of his allies, Captain Moran smirked. "Excellent. Now then. Before we start, any last words, CPUs of Gamindustri?"

Behind her back, Black Heart could tell the others were feeling a little uneasy about this fight.

"These guys look like serious trouble," Falcom said worriedly. "Can we really do this after fighting all those other goons?"

"We've got the numbers advantage," IF claimed. "As long as we stick together and work as a team, we should be able to win this no problem."

"But Iffy, that's the famous Doctor Ludwig in the back!" Compa exclaimed nervously. "He's super famous for his miracle work… Also for his funny hair style. He was featured twice in the New Nep Times."

"Don't underestimate the others, either," Green Heart added. "I don't know much about them, but I do know for a fact that the woman Amethyst is a very powerful magician… She and I went questing once, funny enough."

Black Heart clicked her tongue in annoyance, turning back to her allies, she encouraged them. "Don't underestimate yourselves either. Just because we're catching our winds doesn't mean we're going to lose to these clowns."

White Heart put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you've got a plan of some sort then?"

"Sort of," Black Heart spoke, turning back to the Elites. "Just be quiet for a second."

"Well then? Any last words?" The Captain asked impatiently. "We'll be sure to carve them on your tombstones right when we bury you and your friends."

"I have nothing tell you, Captain Moron," Black Heart insulted, pointing her blade at the Elites.

"It's Captain Moran," he groaned, stomping forward and raising his fists. "Tsk. Very well! Emal Elites! Special fighting pose six! Prepare for combat!"

While Ludwig and Amethyst struck a fighting pose, Edge didn't. "Just a minute, Captain," he said. "I have a request to make of you."

The Captain looked at his ally confused. "Edge? What is it, boy?"

Twirling one of his sickles, he pointed it to the back of the group. "I know this is selfish, but that boy… He's mine to fight. His blood will stain my scythes."

The girls parted, looking back at Toby. He pointed at himself in confusion. "... Uhh… Me?"

"You!" Edge exclaimed, steeling his weapons as he donned his hood. "I've seen you fight. You've felt your pain… Now feel mine!"

"I see… Very well, Edge…" Captain Moran patted Edge's shoulder, giving him a slight nudge towards Toby. "You have my permission to duel the boy."

Toby anxiously looked to his shoulder. With the steel bolt still piercing it, he wouldn't last a minute.

White Heart and Nepgear flew back and stood by his side. "Like hell I'm giving you the satisfaction. You'll be fighting me instead," White Heart angrily yelled.

"Picking on the injured ones isn't very hero like, don't you think?" Nepgear questioned.

Edge looked unsatisfied with the claim. "Damned CPUs. If you wish to die with him, then so be it. After all, death is only a word."

"... No it isn't." Black Heart bluntly corrected.

Edge ignored her, walking towards White Heart and Nepgear. He stopped when Toby stepped forward and asked him something. "Say… Don't I know you? Like… I'm pretty sure I've seen you before."

"Of course you have…" Edge turned his back to the two and posed by dabbing. "I am Lord Edge, the Blue God of Death, proud member of the Emal Elites."

Toby massaged his chin. "No… That's clearly not it… I've seen that look before. Those green combat boots. That pale skin. That ninja-esq headband. I swear, you look just like-... Like… Oh! I know!" Smacking his fist against his palm, Toby nudged his elbow against White Heart's. "Hey, Blanc! You know who that is? It's Kenji! From that one Fanfic of you guys!"

"I-... What?" Edge flinched. "I am who now?"

White Heart raised an eyebrow. "What are you going on about?"

"I said it's Kenji Niju-something from HDN: Blueflame Heart," Toby clarified, appearing quite excited all of the sudden. "It just is! The outfit, the attitude, everything about him matches! The only thing that's different is the weapon."

Edge folded his arms. "I don't know who this Kenji is, nor do I care. Now fi-"

"Hey! Kenji!" Toby shouted, waving to the Elite. "Can you still transform and what not? You're a CPU aren't you?"

Nepgear's eyes widened. They were practically sparkling in amazement. "Wow. This guy is a CPU? Are you sure?"

Edge closed his eyes, groaning, "For the last time, my name is not-"

"That teen is a CPU?" White Heart exclaimed in surprise.

Toby nodded excitedly, standing firmly behind his claim. "Yeah! So this is why that guy hasn't uploaded in the last, like, six months or something. Kenji's been a part of that fighting group, so he couldn't make it to be in his own story."

Edge inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. Readying both his sickles, he dashed forward, crying out in anger. "Enough! Time to face my scythes, you low-lives!"

Heading straight for Toby, Edge was ready to strike, but White Heart blocked his way, clashing her axe against his weapons. "Holy shit, stop confusing scythes with sickles already, you dolt!" she bellowed, pushing him back.

Black Heart sweatdropped as she watched everything unfold. "... What an edgelord."

Turning back to face the remaining Emal Elites, she noticed even they felt embarrassed by the display. "Yep… That's Edge for you, alright," Captain Moran sweatdropped.

Lady Amethyst giggled. "Heh heh. At least he didn't have another speech about that orphanage he grew up in again. I'm pretty sure he made it up. Especially since he also throws in his usual story about being brought up by four abusive stepfathers..."

Doctor Ludwig only shrugged, his expression quite stern.

Green Heart twirled her spear in one hand. "I suppose it is our turn to fight then. Are you prepared for your demise, Captain Moron?"

The Captain clenched his teeth. "It's. Captain. Mo-ran. Ran! I am the proud scion of the ancient house of Moran!"

"Your name doesn't matter. If you stand in our way, you better get ready for us to kick your ass," IF threatened with both qatars in hand.

Amethyst laughed haughtily. "Oh-hoho, the spunk on that girl. How very unrefined. I think it is time to show them how to truly 'kick ass', don't you think so, Morry?"

Swinging her sceptre, she casted a spell on her two allies. A purple barrier, shaped like a gem, formed around them. "Out of harm's way, yet stylish: Sparkling Barrier!"

"Right!" striking another heroic pose, Moran put on a set of black, fingerless gloves. "Get ready for a beating, you girls! I won't be pulling any punches."

The Captain sprinted forward, his fist reeled back, ready to deliver a solid punch.

Black Heart swung her blade in time to counter the attack. But the Captain didn't stop there. His fists were like steel, clashing against Black Heart's blade like it didn't even hurt. All the while they were extremely fast, like a flurry, each strong enough to knock anyone out cold. Black Heart expected the Captain to quickly back off after cutting his fists, but soon enough, she was the one on the back foot. Moving from side to side, Black Heart barely managed to back off far enough to get some breathing space.

"Over here!" Green Heart exclaimed, trusting her spear towards the Captain.

With sparks flying off the tip, her spear was unable to pierce through the barrier surrounding the Captain. Smirking, he grabbed her spear, pulled Green Heart closer, and delivered an uppercut to her jaw. "Take that!"

IF rushed past the Captain, straight at Amethyst. "If we can't get through that barrier, we'll just have to take you down first!"

Just when IF got close enough, Amethyst jumped and levitated backwards, firing several magical gems at the agent.

IF crossed her arms before her, but flew back after the third gem hit her.

"Iffy!" Compa was just about done with Green Heart when she saw her friend get knocked down. Rushing to help her, Moran interjected her. "Not so fast, miss medic!"

"Oh no, you don't," Falcom cried, jumping between the two. "Don't get in my way! Quick Break!"

Shouting her special's name, Falcom impaled the ground before her, creating a moderate shockwave. The Captain recoiled, putting one arm up to protect his face.

"Here I go!" Falcom shouted, spinning with her blade out, striking the Captain mercilessly. Halfway through her attack, the barrier protecting him shattered.

"Gah! D-damn it!"

Ludwig fired a few warning shots with his syringe, causing Falcom to back off. Extending both his hands, they gave a green glow as he healed the Captain.

Quickly rising to his feet, Moran regrouped with his allies. "Thank you kindly, Ludwig. I think it's time we get serious."

"Tsk… They're not going to make this easy…" Black Heart raised her hand and called the others to her. "Everyone. Pair up. We're going to scatter them. Falcom, with me. IF, Vert, take care of the one in purple. Compa, stick to the back side."

"Right!" Everyone called, pairing up like Black Heart had commanded.

The Captain quickly dashed forward once more towards Black Heart. This time, his fist sparked with orange energy. "Taste my Fatal Fist!"

Rather than test her luck, Black Heart flew straight up. Jumping after her, the Captain barely missed her feet with his swing.

As he landed, he was caught by Falcom, swinging her blade down on him. He clapped the steel to a halt, right before it hit him, but Falcom pushed on in the struggle.

Seeing her chance, Black Heart coated her blade in flames. "Don't think you'll survive this! Volcano Dive!"

Falcom looked up after she noticed the red glow. Kicking the Captain in his gut, she jumped back to a safe distance.

The Captain also looked up, but was promptly crushed as Black Heart's blade impacted the area, engulfing him in flames.

When the fire died down, the Captain was nowhere to be seen. Black Heart looked around the arena until she found a burnt Captain Moran next to Amethyst and Ludwig. "Tsk. Vert and IF had one job… One. Job."

The Captain quickly jumped back to his feet, all patched up and ready to go once more. Except this time, he headed straight for Green Heart and IF, along with Amethyst. Ludwig tried to follow, but Black Heart quickly flew between him and his allies.

"Falcom. Go help IF and Vert. I'll take care of this clown. He's just the medic, after all."

Falcom nodded twice before running off. "Right on."

Ludwig pointed his syringe forward — the tip of the needle glowing brightly. Gritting his teeth, he fired several bolts of energy towards the CPU.

Black Heart spread her wings and flew straight through the barrage. With her blade, she deflected every shot with minimal effort.

When she got in range, she raised her blade and brought it down, creating a large crack in the barrier.

Ludwig's eyes widened. Quickly reaching into his pocket, he took out three scalpels, one between each finger. Swinging it at her, he barely scratched Black Heart's cheek.

Backing off, Black Heart ran her fingers along her face. "Tsk. You just caught me off guard."

Ludwig was calm. He slowly put his scalpels back in his pocket and took out a whistle.

"What's that going to do?" Black Heart questioned. "Call me out for foul play?"

Putting the whistle in his mouth, he closed his eyes shut and blew. The pitch of the whistle was agonizingly high. She was forced to drop her weapon and cover her ears with her hands. "Ngh-... Aaah! Make it… S-... Stop!"

Right then, she felt someone grab her by her throat and punch her in the face.

Stunned, she fell on her back, covering her nose in pain.

To top it off, she felt something like a glass wall crush her. It instantly shattered as it hit her, but that didn't make it any less painful.

For a moment, everything around her went black. Black Heart was felt numb; unable to move from the spot she laid. She wasn't even sure where she was anymore. It was only when she felt herself get healed that she was able to open her eyes again. "Uggh… My head. What happened?"

Her vision was blurry, but eventually, she was able to make out a hand before her. It was Compa's. She was offering to help her back up. "Take it easy, Lady Noire. You took a real beating just then."

There were several holes in her woolly shirt, along with her skirt being ripped. Black Heart wasn't sure whether this was because of the fight with the Elites or the fight before.

Behind Compa stood the others, facing the Elites. They had stopped fighting once again, but they looked rather exhausted, as well as wounded. Especially Falcom. Kneeling down, she relied on her blade to keep her up.

Looks like they'd have to end it quickly, or they might actually lose. So far, every hit they got in on them resulted in pointless damage. If Ludwig was going to just heal them like that every time, there would really be no way for them to win.

Taking up Compa's offer, she hoisted herself back to her feet. "Thank you, Compa." she sighed. "I feel much better."

Stepping to stand before the group once more, the Emal Elites looked just as exhausted as they did. "Huff… Puff… R-... Ready to… * **gasp** * give up yet?" the Captain moaned.

"I'll consider it once you and your flunkies jump into the pit, Captain Moron," Black Heart retorted.

Clenching his fist, the Captain stomped angrily. "It's. Captain. Mo. Ran. **Ran**! It even says so on our Emal Elites merchandise!"

Green Heart's shoulders dropped. "You can't be serious…" she deadpanned. "They have merchandise? What sort of fool would buy anything with their faces on it?"

Frowning, the Captain reached into his hammerspace. "Of course we have merchandise!" He began naming each object as he took it out, tossing each item over his shoulder as soon as he was done with it. "We got Emal Elites cereals, shirts, caps, flags, sunglasses —a personal favourite of mine— headphones, hoodies, umbrella's, posters, blankets, pens, socks, pants, skirts, we even have panties. Official Emal Elites Pantsu! What more could a fan want!?"

"... A trash bag to put it all in?" IF mocked.

Amethyst angrily pointed at the agent. "You take that bag-... I mean, you take that back! Our merchandise is of the highest possible quality you'll ever find on the market!"

Black Heart looked back at her allies. Compa still needed more time to patch everyone back up to full health. Perhaps she could buy her more time by tossing some more trash talk into the mix.

"I'm sure your sales are as high as ever…"

The Captain proudly put his fists on his hips. "Heh. We made over a million credits in revenue last year. And that was after taxes and production costs.

Black Heart smirked evilly. "Wow… Your mothers must be swimming in Merchandise then, considering they're the only ones buying it."

The proud smile of Moran shifted to a confused expression, then into a frown. "Y-you take that back! That's just plain mean!"

Black Heart shrugged smugly. "It's only the truth, isn't it?"

Moran's fist sparkled with orange energy once more, but before he could lash out, Ludwig tapped his shoulder, passing him a note.

"Eh? What's this, Ludwig? A note?" Reading the note carefully, a cocky smile curved up on Moran's face. "Heh… Yeah… That's actually-... Hey! Black Heart!"

"Hm? Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah! You know, at least I have a family that can buy my merchandise." With narrowed eyes, Moran weakly waved towards her. "Can't say you have one too."

Black Heart stopped and tried to figure out what he was babbling on about. A shiver went down her spine as she realised he was mocking her about Uni. "What. Did you. Just. Say!?"

"Heck, we even have a store to sell our stuff," the Captain continued. "How about Lastation? Remember when it wasn't legally controlled by Tari? Yeah, me neither. Gwahaha!"

Black Heart clenched the handle of her blade. Spreading her wings, she put her feet on the ground, ready to take off.

Green Heart put her hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place. "Focus Noire. Don't let them get to you. Compa's almost done with Falcom."

"And I'm almost out of bandages," Compa added quietly. "So I can't heal any of you for much more if you get a nasty bump."

"Kch. Fine." Black Heart retracted her wings. "Not like this moron is worth my effort."

"It's Moran, damn it!"

"No one mentioned your name there," IF commented. "But I'm glad you're taking up to your new nickname."

"Nggh… Emal Elites! Time to show these bitches what we can do!"

Amethyst put her hand on the Captain's shoulder. "Morry, profanity, please!"

Moran shook her off. "Nope. Not this time. We are ending their lives. Right here. Right now."

"We don't have much more time," Green Heart pointed out to Compa. "How much longer until you're done."

Compa wiped the sweat off her forehead. "I dunno. This might take another minute."

"We don't have a minute, Compa," IF exclaimed. "Just move back. They're coming at us again."

Pointing his palm at the girls, Moran commanded his allies. "Emal Elites! Formation nine! We attack when I say go!"

Black Heart took a deep breath. She was getting tired of being on par with a group of pseudo-heroes. "I suppose I should stop holding back on you lot then. Bring it, Moron."

"Mo-ran! Emal Elites! Att-"

"Uh… E-excuse me…"

Moran was abruptly interrupted by two teens. A boy and a girl. "You're… The leader of the Emal Elites, right?" The girl timidly asked. The girl, a brunette wore a skirt below her shirt, waving a little flag in both her hands. She also carried a headphone on her neck. Each of the items was a piece of the Emal Elites' merchandise series.

Black Heart noticed two things about this girl. First, her voice seemed familiar. She knew it fairly well, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Second, she sounded like someone horribly reading lines off a script.

"Fans? How did they get in here?" Green Heart questioned.

"Why, yes, I am the famous Captain Moran," Moran responded, giving them a thumbs up. "The one and only leader of the amazing Emal Elites."

The boy stepped forward. He was packed with merchandise items. Wearing a hoodie and pants, along with fitting socks, he carried a towel over his right shoulder. He even had the cap and sunglasses to finish the look. "W-wowwie. I can't believe we-... Eheh… We managed to get this close!"

While the boy and girl were shaking each other excitedly, Black Heart wondered if she should wait for them to be done or actually get a sneaky attack in on them. For some reason, she got a sneaky suspicion she should wait and see what was about to unfold.

Captain Moran's anger vanished like snow to the sun. "Why, fans. What can I do for you, loyal elites?"

"W-we… we wondered if you-..." The girl stuttered, looking at the boy beside her. They nodded at each other as they both held out an item. "Please sign our merchandise?"

The Captain smiled brightly. "Why, such devoted fans. Of course, I'll sign your items. What did you bring!"

"P-panties…" The girl mumbled, fidgeting on the spot.

" _For my biggest fangirl,_ _Captain Moran_ _,_ " the Captain signed. "Here you go. And remember: 'United we stand, united we fall!' Wear them with pride."

The girl hugged the panties with a loving smile. "T-thank you so much! I'll never wash them ever again."

Then the Captain turned to the boy. He was carrying a box of cereals. "And what about you, boy? Want me to sign that box of cereals for you?"

The boy nodded anxiously. "Y-yes please! I'm your biggest fan, Captain!"

Taking the box as well as the Emal Elites pen from the boy, he looked the box over. "Ah! Cherry flavoured. My favourite. Tell me, what's your name, young one?"

"Err… It's… T-... Siri," The boy quickly responded, receiving a little frown from the Captain.

"Siri? Hum. First time I've signed that name for a boy. _For my biggest fanboy,_ _Captain Mo_ _-... Mo… Moo_ ooh my god! What the-… Boy, where did you get this box of cereals!?"

Even if she was quite her ways away, Black Heart could vaguely make out a smirk on the boy's, as well as on the girl's face. "Oh? This box?" The girl asked. "We bought in the store, of course. There are tons of boxes like that one."

The Captain looked flabbergasted. His eyes shot between the fans, his allies and the box of cereals. "But-... But this is-, when in the-... **This box says my name is** _ **Moron**_!"

Amethyst yanked the box out of his hands. "What!? There is no way!? We double checked every item. Twice. We double checked everything twice!"

The boy slightly tilted his head. "Huh? But your name is Captain Moron, isn't it?"

Shocked, Moran and Amethyst gasped for air. Dropping on all fours, they appeared to have lost the will to fight — looking fairly gloomy. "N-no! My pride!" The Captain lamented. "Broken… Broken!"

Black Heart flew closer. She gave them a few prods with her toes. Receiving no reaction, she looked up at Ludwig, which only shrugged, his face practically saying 'I don't know what to do either'.

"Hum… Guess your little plan worked out, huh?" The girl said, looking at the boy. The boy's smile instantly disappeared. "Hmph… Honestly, I didn't expect it to work this well," the boy declared.

"Plan?" Black Heart questioned. "What plan? Seriously, you two look familiar. Do I know you?"

The two fans looked at each other before the boy spoke up. "Seriously? Noire, it's us! Toby and Blanc."

The girl began to glow brightly, transforming into White Heart, while the boy tossed the towel of his shoulder, revealing a large rip in the hoodie. In it was a single steel bolt, piercing an orange body warmer.

It took a second for Black Heart to process what exactly had happened. She then burst out in laughter. "What? Ahahaha! Oh, no way! That was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I must admit, Blanc, I didn't think you'd come up something so marvellous," she praised, poking Moran a few times with the tip of her blade. He moaned pathetically as she did.

Ludwig picked the box of cereals up and examined it quickly. Raising both eyebrows, he scratched the cover, revealing a little sticky note with the letter 'O' covering the letter 'A' in 'Moran'. He shook the Captain's shoulder in an attempt to inform him, but the Captain's only response was a short, depressed groan.

White Heart shrugged, pointing her thumb over her shoulder towards Toby. "Thanks, but you should be praising him. He was the one that came up with the idea."

Toby didn't acknowledge the fact White Heart just credited him. "So what are we going to do with the four of them now?"

Looking down on the teen, she was well aware of his situation and what he had done. Nearly killing IF and claiming for them to be tyrants is certainly not something that could go unanswered.

But on the other hand, he had just eliminated a major threat to their safety with minimal effort. It would only be right for Black Heart to have praised him in some shape or form.

With a neutral expression, Black Heart nodded once. "Good job, Toby," she spoke.

Toby went quiet. With his expression unaffected, he kept staring the goddess down before scoffing and looking the other way. Black Heart could barely make out his mumbling. "I don't _want_ your praise."

Clearing his throat, Toby continued. "Anyway, what are you guys going to do with them?"

Both Lady Amethyst and Captain Moran sullied over the little 'mistake' on the merchandise as Ludwig watched over them thoughtfully. Glancing around the arena, he quickly spotted his other ally, Edge. He laid unconscious on the floor with Nepgear watching over him.

The CPUs and their allies were closing in, but Ludwig wasn't done yet. He still had an ace up his sleeve. Quite literally.

Slowly taking off his lab coat, Ludwig folded it up neatly, storing it in his hammerspace. Moving closer to Black Heart he passed her a piece of paper.

Unfolding the note Black Heart skimmed through it. " _Please, call nurse Compa and both of you put your ears next to my stomach…_?" She read out loud. Looking Ludwig in the eyes, she could tell he had no ill intention. If anything, he looked at her in a fairly friendly manner.

Beckoning towards Compa, she quickly ran over and also read the note. She offered Black Heart a look of confusion before they both pressed their ear against Ludwig's stomach.

"Uhh… Hello?" Compa softly asked. "Is anyone there?"

"Compa, I don't think anyone's _inside_ his stomach."

"Actually, there is," a girlish voice whispered.

Startled, Black Heart and Compa both jumped back. "Eek!"

Black Heart mumbled a little to herself before she jumped back towards Ludwig. She lifted his shirt up slightly. Underneath was a little girl, roughly around the age of twelve, a set of legs wrapped around her shoulder. She was carrying someone.

"Hello there," the girl cheerfully greeted.

"... You've got to be kidding me," Black Heart sighed. "I thought I'd seen everything. But this? This is just ridiculous."

Compa, on the other hand, could only stutter in amazement. "Y-you… Y-y-y-y-you are the amazing Doctor Ludwig?"

"No… Me and my brother are." She pointed up to her brother, which was the head-part of 'Ludwig'. "I'm the LUD part of Ludwig, and he's the Wig part. LUD stands for 'Low-Under-Down', and Wig is… Well, a wig. You know. A fake headpiece."

The boy, Wig, slowly nodded. He murmured something through his lips. "I can't really show people I can talk. If they hear me, they'll hear I'm just a kid…"

Compa's eyes were sparkling with amazement. "Whoaaa! That's so cool. Hey, LUD, do you want some candy? I got some sweets if you want any."

Black Heart turned the other way to facepalm. "Oh for crying out loud, this is-... Why is Compa taking this so lightly? _How_ is she taking this so lightly? Whatever. We can't kill kids. What do you want from us?"

LUD, accepting Compa's sweets, quickly stuffed a few of them in her mouth. "Mmm. Raspberry. Thank you, nurse Compa. Wig and I will be sure to get you a raise when we get back in the hospital. Just promise to tell no one else about our secret, or we might lose our job."

Wig frowned. "That'd be bad," he murmured.

Compa smiled at the two kids. "Tee hee. No problem, doctor. It'll be our own little Compa secret."

"Hey! Stop ignoring me!" Black Heart said, lowering herself to meet LUD's eye level. "What are you two trying to accomplish? We have to reveal your secret if we want to keep you two alive, you know."

LUD blinked a few times before she cocked a grin. "Nuh-uh! We still got one final ace up our sleeve."

Compa reached forward, pushing her nose in the opening between 'Ludwig's' belt and shirt. "Another sibling!?"

"What? No! I was gonna say we're the head Doctors of the operation on your CPU of Planeptune, Neptune."

Black Heart's heart skipped a beat. "No way! You two are-... But you are supposed to be operating right now! Why are you two here? No! Why are _kids_ being trusted with the life of a CPU!?"

"We have a one-hundred percent success rate…" Wig clarified.

"Either you let us go like a bunch of plebs, or…" LUD dramatically said.

"Or… Or what?" Compa asked, her head almost under the shirt of 'Ludwig'.

"Or else it's Game Over Neps..." Wig added.

Compa's eyes widened. "Hey, that rhymed!... Oh… Wait… What-... What do you mean Game Over?"

"We read the rules of this place before we got in here," LUD explained. "You don't _have_ to kill anyone. If they are unable to fight any further and your opponent is letting you go, you get to live. And considering Lady Neptune needs a doctor… Well… I think you know what we're implying."

Black Heart folded her arms. "I see… Tsk. As if we have much of a choice. Very well. Get your flunkies and get them out of here. But you better not mess up your work on Neptune. Or else!"

LUD smiled. "Huh? Really? You're letting us off the hook so easily?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself. Get out. Now… Save Neptune. Please…"

Wig nodded. "Don't worry. We're professionals."

Pulling the shirt back over LUD, 'Ludwig' took a white flag from somewhere and waved it around.

" _Wait, what's that?_ " The announcer Greese asked. " _No way! Ludwig is tossing in the towel! And from the looks of it, the CPUs are letting them go._ "

" _Unbelievable!"_ Hew exclaimed, playing the airhorn sound effect to signify the end of the round. " _They did it! They actually did it! The CPUs beat the Emal Elites fair and square_."

Ludwig carried his allies over his shoulder through a gate of the arena. Black Heart wondered how on earth two kids are strong enough to carry two adults and a teen.

"What gives, Lady Noire," IF asked, rushing to her friend. "Why'd you just let them go like that? Heck, what were you two doing in that Ludwig's pants the entire time anyway?"

Black Heart, sternly watching the Emal Elites leave the arena took a moment to respond. "It's complicated. I'll explain after we're done here, alright?"

" _Wait a second,_ " Greese said. " _Wait just one mother fucking second… The CPUs survived! So that means they get to go to round three!_ "

" _Indeed they did, Greese,_ " Hew confirmed, " _indeed they did. I hope you brought a change of pants, because you're gonna need them with the sheer amount of awesome we're about to witness._ "

Compa moved from person to person, passing her final bottles of medicine to each of them. They were officially out of supplies, so getting eliminated now will prove to be fatal.

The light around the stage dimmed. Complete darkness took over. The entire crowd went silent in anticipation. The largest gate of the arena slowly creaked open, the steel bars steadily being retracted. A thin layer of red fog flowed out of the hallway.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen_ ," Hew spoke slowly. " _The moment we have all been waiting for..._ "

A single red dot lit up at the end of the hallway. Then another. And another. And another. Dozens of red lights lit up like eyes staring right through your soul.

" _For over five years, she has laid dormant; slumbering peacefully… Awaiting the right moment to strike once more_."

The red eyes slowly drew closer with each step echoing through the entire arena. The closer she got, the more intense the red fog escaping the hall became.

" _Long vanquished by the CPUs, she's back for one final rematch. It's time to settle the score._ "

Black Heart felt her throat dry up. Steadily holding her blade up, she watched the outline walk ever so closer to the arena.

" _Everyone. Watch and be amazed. Because she. Is. Here!_

The outline finally got into view, revealing a woman shrouded in dark energy with an appearance similar to that of a CPU. Her skin was pale. Lifeless. Her eyes were filled with hate and rage, aimed straight at the CPUs. The metallic wings on her back folded open, creating an immense shockwave. Finally, metal spikes detached themselves from her wings, forming a circle above her head, creating a spiked, metal halo, shining with red energy.

" _C-F-W, Magic!"_

The entire crowd was silent. No one could dared to speak, it seemed. Black Heart felt a cold race down her spine. The mere sight of the witch gave her flashbacks of her time in the Graveyard.

The CFW drew her Scythe. Holding it in behind her back in one hand, she looked down on the CPUs showing no sign of emotion. "At last, I have returned once more, to carry out the word of our Deity. Today, I shall enact my revenge upon every single one of you. It is time to put you to your final resting place."

* * *

 **Riiight after the break… We're used to this by now, right?**

 **Hey everyone. Just wanted to get a few things out of the way before I end this chapter.**

 **First of all, a huge thank you to** Alex4top **for giving me permission, as well as his approval, to refer to his story's OC. Big fan of his work. If you haven't already, go check him out… Seriously, about 200 people already beaten you to the punch. What are you still doing here?**

 **Anyway, as you might be able to tell, I tried something new with the fighting in this chapter. I** _ **think**_ **it turned out pretty well, with all the chaos and what not. But I don't think I'll ever use this format again. That being one group of organised people (or a team) against another group of organised people.**

 **Other than that, I also decided to make this chapter a little more light hearted compared to the last one. We've been dealing with serious stuff for some time now. A little breather along the way is going to be refreshing.**

 **That's all I've got to say… It's been a while since I clustered up the author notes this much. I usually drop a spoiler or something, as a reward for those who read it all, but… Well… We're about to hit the climax. I don't have anything to spoil at the moment. So… Uh… Did you know Croire made a sneak appearance in the story? Just keep your eyes peeled for her. She's guaranteed to pop up again when you least expect it.**


	16. Chapter 16 - Tomorrow's Hero

**And I definitely hit the deadline of 'end of the week'. Good job, me.**

 **Not much more to say about this one for now. I mostly filled the notes at the end… I've been keeping you all waiting for long enough, so I'm not going to waste your time with A/N too much.**

 **For those who didn't read (the possibly removed) 'Not quite Ch16', this chapter, being a climax chapter, is an experiment. It has been divided into several smaller chapters, packed in one, err, package. Not only that, but it's also about three times as large as any regular chapter, hitting 16.16k words. Chances are I will** _ **never**_ **do this again. Too much work for what it's worth.**

 **Anyway, that's all there is to say about this chapter, really. So let's move on to the reviews.**

To Broach Or To Put up (Ch15): Yes.

To Broach Or To Put up (Teaser16): Well at least now you get to read what happens after the cliffhanger ;)

CPU Reaper Heart: Well, I do hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long… And I hope I've come to live up to your expectations. Quantity over quality right? Just kidding. This took so long because of the amount of quality control me and my little helpers had to do.

Shadicgon: So wait, I get a free anime girl for killing off a character, but I also get one for _not_ killing off a character? Hey, I don't see a loss here. The bet's on!

To your second review, I recommend you check last chapter's author notes. Whenever they're 'long', I tend to drop a little hint about the upcoming chapter or the story in general.

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Tomorrow's Hero**

* * *

 **16.1 - The Ryght to Remain Silent**

As CFW Magic loomed over the centre of the arena, Rei smiled deviously as she watched the other, lesser CPUs slowly back off. She could feel it. Their fear of the pale reaper. She could feel them tremble before her posture, their hearts shrieking in terror. And here she was, ready to watch the battle unfold. She would get to watch them be butchered like the shameless swines they were.

Up until just a few moments ago, Rei had found little of interest in the entire event. Rather, she had spent her time simply talking about everything and nothing with Geoffrey's assistant, Linda. She and her shared a surprisingly large amount of similarities. Even better, she had gotten much more information from her in the past few minutes than she had of her current Oracle in the past year.

The thought of replacing Geoffrey with Linda did cross her mind a few times, but she was well aware that she can't match his experience… Not yet, at least.

"Ugh! Finally, it's getting interesting!" Rei exclaimed, turning to her left to look at Linda. "Hey, What's-your-face, isn't that CFW whatever? The woman you asked my stupid Oracle to revive for you or something?"

Linda, on the other hand, didn't respond. Her eyes were fixated directly on CFW Magic, a horrified expression plastered all across her face.

Waving her hand before Linda's face, Rei attempted to snap the girl out of her trance. "Hey! Rei to Mouse-Girl! Beep beep! Hellooo? Are you ignoring me? Or are you just trying to make me angry? I'll have you know that you won't like me when I'm angry."

"H-huh? O-oh, Lady Rei, did you say anything?" sputtered the girl.

"Heck yeah I did. Why are you getting so bent out of shape anyway?"

Linda visibly swallowed. "I-I'm not! I was just, you know, looking… At the event."

Rei was skeptical, but upon closer introspection, didn't really give a damn. "Sure. Don't share what's bothering you. See if I care."

Turning her head the other way, she decided to leave Linda be and start a conversation with her Oracle. "Hey, dumbass!"

"Please, not in public, my Lady," The man instantly snapped back, before he winced slightly. "Think of your image." he continued in a more subdued tone.

"Ugh… Fine. 'Hey, Mister, err… Mister!"

Narrow eyed, Geoffrey stared at the CPU in a questioning manner. "Do you-... Do you even know my name? I got like-... Like three of them. Yeah, three of them. You remembered at least one of them, right?"

Rei took a moment to think. She quickly came to the conclusion she can't remember any of his actual names. After all, it wasn't like she called him them, well… ever. Why bother, when he responded more often than not to an insult instead? "Yeah, sure, whatever..." she finally responded, dodging the question with the grace of a bird. "Forget it. Who cares about names when the grand finale is about to begin?"

Geoffrey shrugged. "Not really. Neptune isn't even among them, so really, I couldn't care any less about this stuff."

"Ugh. You too? Just be quiet about your stupid little hate-crush already. Seriously, is there nothing else that gets your rocks off?" spat Rei. "You know what? Screw it! I'm going to enjoy myself by watching the event now. You can go do whatever."

Rei returned her attention to the arena, crossing her legs as she leaned back in her comfortable chair. It seemed like neither of her companions felt the same excitement as she did.

From the corner of her eye she could see that her Oracle opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly swallowed it and also continued to watch the event.

CFW Magic strode into the center of the stage,. "It seems fate has crossed our paths once more, CPUs."

Magic's tone was hateful. Every word dripped from her lips with palpable malice.

Black Heart stepped forward to meet her foe. "Cut the dramatic speech. We already know this song, so you might as well skip to the dance."

Magic closed her one revealed eye. "If the lambs wish to be slaughtered sooner, then so it shall be. I can fulfill this death wish."

Firmly grasping her scythe in one hand, the witch opened her eye again. This time, she was looking around the arena, before finally locking Rei into her sight. "However, your wish can wait. There is something I wish to tell the CPU of this long damned nation."

Raising an eyebrow, Rei leaned to her right. "Eh? Hey, Oracle. Did I just hear her right? Is that lowlife trying to speak to me? And why aren't they killing each other yet? We paid money to see them kill each other, right?"

Geoffrey, sounding just as confused as Rei responded. "I think she did...? I mean, who cares, really. It's probably going to be some speech about how she hates CPUs and how you're next, my Lady. Of course, you would never lose to the likes of her… Also, we didn't pay anything."

"Hmph. Of course I wouldn't. Who do you think you're talking about here? The one and _only_ Goddess. That's me!"

CFW Magic, as well as the CPUs and their allies, turned to face Rei and her two companions.

Taking a microphone from presumably the same place Noire had found hers, Magic slowly approached the side of the arena nearest to Rei. "Lady Cyan Heart… The ancient CPU from a long forgotten nation, returned from beyond the grave to 'rule' Gamindustri once more..."

Rei was not amused by the false praise. She could hear the clear mockery in Magic's voice. She was up to something. Wretches like her always are.

Turning to her Oracle, Rei held her hand out. "Microphone. Give me. Now."

Geoffrey held the device out to her. She surged out to grab it, but the man quickly pulled it out of her reach again. Looking stern, he spoke "Be… Nice… If you say even a single thing to insult your people, the entire event was for nothing. So please, my Lady, don't lose your temper."

Rei leaned forward, swiping the mic out of his hand. "Is that an insult? Are you insulting me? Tsk. I don't know about you, maggot, but I have _never_ said anything to insult anyone."

"... Maggot understands," Geoffrey mumbled, turning the other way to facepalm. "Oh god, please, don't let her call everyone maggots or bugs or… Whatever again."

"Hey, hey! I heard that!"

Geoffrey seemingly didn't hear her. He just buried his face in his hands, looking genuinely concerned about her having a microphone. She would feel irritated by this if it wasn't for the fact that she knew the man cared for Tari. For the past year, he had worked under her without ever back talking her. This was probably the first time ever he was concerned about something she would do.

Staring at the mic in her hand, she looked back at the man. Clearing her throat and putting the mic before her mouth, she began. "The-… The pleasure is all mine, CFW Magic."

Geoffrey slowly raised his head from his hands. Baffled, he turned to the CPU. "Did you-... Did you just _not_ insult her? While in HDD?"

Rei ignored his irritating words for now. "But I must know, what is it that's so important that you, a lowly criminal, would address me, the CPU of the prosperous nation of Tari, personally? Perhaps you have chosen to beg for mercy? Are you truly afraid of getting your ass handed to you by those eight nitwits in the pit with you?

At a loss for words, Geoffrey couldn't comprehend what he was witnessing. While there still was a tone of Rei's wicked disrespect towards others, she was actually speaking in a more acceptable tone. Maybe the fallout would be easier to clean up this time than usual.

"E-excellent speech, my Lady," Geoffrey praised, golf clapping as he spoke. "Magnificent, even. A truly magnificent display."

Smirking, Rei felt accomplished thanks to his praise. "Of course it was good. I was the one who came up with it, after all," she boasted, holding the mic away from her mouth.

To Rei, CFW Magic's expression was the exact face someone would make when they were filling out their taxes: bored, unamused and entirely uninterested.

Magic raised the mic to her mouth. "There is no reason for me to beg. In fact, I would be more concerned about your own safety…"

Slightly taken aback, Rei shook her head. "Eh? What about it? Why would I be worried about anything or anyone?"

The corner's of Magic's mouth slightly curved up. "You will learn soon enough that a once cursed nation is always doomed to fall."

Rei wanted to speak up, but she stopped as Magic grabbed her scythe in both hands. The blade glowed with an evil red and black energy. As if she were tearing a hole into reality itself, she cut the very air around her, opening a dark portal, which released several monsters. From simple Dogoos to Pixelvaders, they swarmed the arena rapidly. These weren't the usual type of monsters, however. They were some of the strongest variants of the beasts, only found the deepest dungeons.

"Monsters? Hum. That's new," Geoffrey commented unamused.

Magic smirked, her single eye glowing red. "And that's not all. Haaa!"

Raising her scythe once more, she brought it down against the arena, releasing an incredible shockwave, destroying every last light and engulfing the entire Colosseum in darkness.

"What the-... Hey! Who turned off the lights!?" Rei bellowed. She, along with the other CPUs and CFW Magic were the only ones shining in the darkness. Perks of having Processor Units that glow in the dark, she supposed.

The crowd was screaming. Not with excitement, but out of terror. The sound of panicking people could be heard through the entire arena. It was hard to make out, but from what Rei could see, the monster were attacking the spectators.

Geoffrey got up from his seat and stepped just close enough to the CPU's natural light to reveal his face. "Err… M-my Lady, it seems like that blast just wiped out all electronic devices around the arena.

"S-so what!? Who cares about that, anyway?"

"My Lady, I do believe that also includes all camera's broadcasting the event. If I were to take a guess, that was Magic's goal with this… In other words, we're offline. Anarchy Arena is officially off the channel."

Wide eyed, Rei gazed over the arena. Those monsters were attacking her people. Her followers. While she didn't really care about any of them, the sole fact that the witch was acting against her was already unforgivable.

Shooting off her seat and jumping into the arena, Rei drew her sceptre, pointing it at the CFW. "What the hell do you think you are doing, you bitch! Why are those monsters attacking _my_ people!?"

Magic remained silent for a moment. "Foolish CPU. You and I both know why Tari fell to ruin long ago… Today, not just Tari, but all of Gamindustri will fall to its knees. The Deity of Sin shall return once more!"

"Grrr. Shut. Up!" Rei bellowed, firing several bolts of electricity at her. Magic reacted quickly by raising her off-hand and creating an obsidian glyph, shielding herself.

Angered, Rei kept on firing bolt after bolt in a futile attempt to break through her shield, but to no avail.

When Magic suddenly flew up, Rei readjusted her aim and pressed her attack. But Magic was nimble, flying in-between the openings of her attack, she took her scythe in both hands and swung it at her opponent at full force.

Surprised by her opponent's nimbleness, Rei was almost a hair too late on swinging her sceptre up, clashing against Magic's weapon. In a deadlock, Rei charged her sceptre with energy. As her weapon began to glow, she released a flash of light, blinding her opponent. With this opening, Rei pressed the end of her sceptre against Magic's mid-section and unleashed a powerful blast, sending her flying into the wall.

"D'aww, did that sting?" she mockingly asked. "It did, didn't it? Ahahaha!"

When Magic got back up, she appeared to be unharmed. "Hmph. Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye. I'll take care of you later. After I'm done with the other CPUs, you're next."

In a gesture of dismissal, Magic launched an orb of dark energy at the CPU of Tari.

Jumping back to avoid the worst of the blast, Rei couldn't help but flinch backwards. Finally able to slow to a stop, she bumped into something. Turning around, she found herself face to a face with an oversized Plummet. The pipe beast reeled backwards, ready to strike her, but instead it exploded into data.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a top hat flying back to the hand of her Oracle, catching it between his thumb and index finger.

"Linda! The flank!" he yelled, finger pointed straight towards Rei.

Faster than Rei's eye could track, Linda ran past her, smashing her pipe against the jaw of a beast attacking Rei from behind, knocking into the pit below.

Turning to the CPU, she looked her from head to toe. "Hey, you okay?"

"I-... I didn't need your help!" Rei snapped back. "I was doing just fine on my own!"

Linda nodded, taking her response for granted. turning, she scanned the arena, looking for CFW Magic. Geoffrey quickly ran to stand beside her. "Tsk. I should've known it would come to this… Any idea where Magic went?"

"What the hell are you two doing!?" shouted Rei. "If you two dolts don't stay out of this fight, I'll be tossing you two over the edge personally, you hear me!?"

Linda and Geoffrey ignored Rei's threats and both took on assault stances. "No clue. She just vanished. What's the plan, old timer?" the hooded girl asked.

"If Magic is going to hide, then the safety of the people should be our first concern," the Oracle began, taking a purple diamond from under his hat and it tossing up for Linda to catch. "Here. Take this teleport crystal and get every spectator out of here. It's already set to evac mode."

"Right on it!" Linda nodded, running off into the darkness. A few purple lights flashed from the general direction she disappeared into.

Still having his back turned to the CPU, Geoffrey held his arm up, gesturing for Rei to stay back. "Your safety is my first concern, my Lady. If we are to survive this hostile takeover, we need you to do your duty as a CPU and protect the people."

With widened eyes, Rei's gaze pierced right through the man. "Takeover!? What are you babbling on about? Hey! Stop ignoring me and tell me what's going on already!"

A handful of monsters began circling around them, causing Geoffrey to inch back towards Rei. "My Lady… I have all the reason to believe that Anarchy Arena wasn't simply organised for CFW Magic to exact her revenge on the CPUs, but rather to gather all of us in one place and take over Gamindustri that way."

Rei's heart skipped a beat. The man's words echoed through her head. 'Take over Gamindustri.' Which meant to overthrow Tari. In other words…

The situation slowly dawned on her, realising what was truly happening. Just like back then. Just like what happened to the old Tari. Slowly lowering her head, Rei's hair shadowed her eyes.

"No…"

The grasp on her sceptre tightened with a near-audible creak.

"Not again…"

Rei spoke quietly. Almost whispering. Her mumbles did not go unnoticed, however.

The Oracle slowly turned to her. "Uh… My Lady? Are you alright?"

As Geoffrey was the only person near the CPU of Tari, he was the only one able to hear the far-too-audible sound of something snapping. "No! No no no no! It wasn't my fault! It's because CPUs are doomed to fail! They always are! I knew I shouldn't have listened to you! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

Her posture feral, Rei frantically unleashed blast after blast in seemingly random directions. While her Oracle covered his hat and dropped on the floor for cover, the monster which were unfortunate enough to be nearest to her, got the short end of the stick as each of her impulsive attacks hit their mark. Only when they were naught but dust, did she turn her attention to her Oracle, seizing the man by the throat as he stood back up. "Ack! * **huff** * M-my La-... Lady!? Ach!... * **Wheeze** * Air… Please… Air…"

"This is all **your** fault! You and your… Stupid, little. brain." Every snarled syllable drove the grip tighter and tighter, until the whites of his eyes perfectly matched the whites of her knuckles. "You promised me I wouldn't be doomed to fall again! You promised that I wouldn't end up like last time."

She pulled him closer until their were faces inches apart from each other. "I told you," she began, speaking slowly, placing emphasis on each and every word. "CPUs are always doomed to fail. There are no exceptions. Not a single one… No matter how well they do or how much help they get, it will always be for naught in the end. No matter what happens, someone, or something will happen, and ruin all of their hard work."

"N-nngh… L-Lady… Rei… * **Hack** * Let me… Go-aagh!"

Rei stared deep into her Oracle's widened eyes. The poor fool more resembled a grim puppet than a man, and was slowly turning blue. With the veins around his iris reddened, his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his sockets. His teeth were loosely clenched and a drop of saliva was escaping from the corner of his mouth.

Noticing a few monster approaching from the side, Rei spread her wings and flew up, far out of reach of any monster whilst taking Geoffrey with her, never breaking eye contact. "This time? It's all your fault. You just **had** to mess with the dead. You just **had** to sponsor all of this. You just **had** to drag me along. No more! Your treachery ends here, you disgusting turn-coat. You have made your **last** mistake."

"... I… Ah… C-cold…"

As the man's frantic grasp on her wrist weakened, Rei tightened her grasp one last time. Just for good measure. The feeling of his pulse in his throat pushing against her palm felt very satisfying.

Receiving little to no reaction, Geoffrey's eyes half rolled in the back of his sockets.

"Are you for real!?" Rei exclaimed in frustration, shaking the limp body in disgust. "Just. Die already! Die! Die! Die!"

Dispelling her sceptre, she placed both hands on the man's fragile neck. Pushing his throat shut with full force, chaos overtook sense in Rei's mind. She couldn't help but let a few short bursts of laughter escape her mouth. "Heh… Eheh… Ehah! Hya-ahah-Ouch!"

Just then, something hard hit Rei in the back. turning to look over her shoulder, Rei saw Linda standing there, among the half empty spectator seats, her arm extended as if she had just thrown something at her. She was still holding the purple diamond Geoffrey gave her, yet her pipe was missing. With a bewildered expression, she jumped back into the ring and ran to where Rei was floating, pushing a few monsters aside as she went. "Let him go! Now!"

Looking back at the man, Rei took a moment before she released him, dropping him on the platform. On impact, the Oracle took a deep breath, writhing like fish as he reached for his chest.

Linda rushed towards him looking down upon him in dismay. "Guess we're even now…"

Firing a few wind blasts at approaching enemies—killing them instantly—Rei lowered herself back down with her arms folded. "What do _you_ think you're doing? How dare you demand something of me? Are you in cahoots with him? No… I get it. You, this runt and that witch are all conspiring against me, aren't you?"

Linda turned to the cyan CPU angrily. "Cut the bullshit already! I knew you hated him, but this ridiculous! Heck, I'm amazed I heard you yell over the rest of the crowd. I'd hate to imagine what would've happened if I didn't… For his sake."

"Who cares about him!?" Rei exclaimed. "You said it yourself, you hate him just as much as I do. So we should just kill him. No one's going to miss him! He's just a worthless, spineless, useless roach."

"It's true, I don't like him." Linda walked up to Rei, stopping just a few feet before her. "But killing him outright is going one step too far. CPUs don't kill everyone just because they don't like them. You're a CPU, aren't you? Then behave like one!"

The hooded girl's words made Rei flinch. Was she being looked down upon by this bug? Just because she treated her slightly more nicely than the other insects?

Gritting her teeth, Rei turned her head haughtily. "Well, of course I'm a CPU? You want me to act like one? Well, too bad! I've been acting the exact way one should be acting all along. I'm _sooo_ sorry to disappoint you. But I suppose I'll forgive your disrespect and stop killing this vixenous bastard."

Linda's expression remained unchanged. After hearing Rei wouldn't continue her attempt of murder, she got on her knees and checked up on her boss. "Hey. Dude. C'mon, get up. I did my part. Your weird wife soldiers are doing the rest. What's next?"

Slowly hoisting himself in a sitting position as he breathed heavily, Geoffrey momentarily glared at Rei. "Good job, Linda," he complimented in a tone of exhaustion. "But… Now that the citizens are put out of harm's way, it is time part two of my improvised three step plan. Unless My Lady wishes to-"

"Just shut up and tell us the rest of the plan," Rei interrupted in a tone of rage.

"R-right… Just follow me. We're gonna turn this situation from bad publicity into 'free shares for Tari', if you catch my drift."

Beckoning the girls to follow him, Geoffrey ran off into the darkness. Rei glanced at Linda, which shrugged and then ran after him.

" _I… I'm the the_ only _CPU that deserves to succeed. I won't let some thug like you tell me how to do my job_ , _mouse girl._ " Rei thought before following them both.

* * *

 **16.2 - Anarchy's End**

"Gyaa!" Nepgear cried, slicing through a few different monsters. For the past few minutes, she and the others were getting ambushed by all sorts of monsters to no end. Everyone, including Toby and Falcom, which were struggling with their own injuries, were forced to stand their ground and fight.

"This is getting absurd," Black Heart complained, clearly getting frustrated at the situation. " Just how many of them are there? And why do they keep attacking us over them? Those three dolts have been standing there arguing while nearly all monsters are ignoring them. Tsk. Nepgear. Get Coma. Vert, take IF. Blanc, Toby. I'll take Falcom. Time to get out of this mess."

"Right!" the three CPUs agreed, taking their companions and flying up, right out of the reach of the monsters.

Black Heart could tell the four humans were reaching their limits. While Falcom was breathing heavily, Compa was practically asleep in Nepgear's arms. Both IF and Toby looked like they could still go on, but it wasn't hard to differentiate fake bravado with reality.

Looking around the Colosseum, Black Heart noticed the stands were completely devoid of people. "Guess Anarchy Arena is officially over, huh… Alright. Time for you four to retire."

Falcom smiled faintly. "That'd… That'd be nice, heh… I could go for a good rest."

IF struggled a little in Green Heart's arms. "What No way! I can still fight!"

Pressing her hand on the back of the agent's head, she pushed her face inches away from her own. "It's okay, Iffy. You've done your part. But allow us to finish this."

"There!" White Heart suddenly called, pointing at the announcer booth. "You four can hide in there for the time being. It should be safe from any invading monsters."

Nodding, Nepgear dashed forward and broke through the glass with a single slash from her blade. A duo of terrified screams came from inside the booth. After following through the hole Nepgear made, Black Heart blinked a few times, looking down on the two screaming men. They were hugging each other, looking horrified at the CPUs. The one on the left was dressed in a tuxedo, with a pair of glasses resting on his nose. The other was wearing a dog fighter jacket with a set of aviator sunglasses to match.

"Please, take Hew!" The one in with the aviators exclaimed panicky. "He's the one that called you thots."

The man in the tux, presumably Hew, the announcer, pushed his friend away. "What? No! Greese, you were the one who said that, not me! Besides, if they kill you, there's little to nothing lost anyway."

Black Heart gazed at the duo for a moment, but she had no intentions of wasting time on them. As she and the others set down their human companions on their feet, Compa and Falcom instantly dropped, sitting with their backs against each other. "Oww… I'm so sleepy…" the nurse whined. "Just… Just give a me few minutes to… zzz"

"I think I'm going to follow your example," Falcom murmured, nodding with her eyes closed. "Just a few minutes won't be so bad to-... to-... zzz."

Both Toby and IF grabbed the two only chairs in the room, setting themselves down. "Ugh… Finally," IF groaned.

Toby didn't say anything. He simply rested his arms on the desk before him and stared through the window at the pitch black arena.

"Right… So now what?" White Heart questioned. "Anyone even know where the hell that bitch went?"

With closed eyes, Green Heart shook her head. "She must be using this darkness to her advantage. How fitting, for a witch as herself. Regardless, it would be for the best if we focused on the problem at hand. We need to take down the rift that's spawning those monsters."

Black Heart, already out of the window again, beckoned the others to follows. "Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go!"

The remaining CPUs quickly followed suit, descending upon the arena again. Near the rift spawning the never ending horde of monsters, White Heart readied her axe. "I've got this."

Pulling back, she stomped down her foot down against the floor and swinged her axe at full force at the rift. "Take this! Zerstorung!"

As the blade came into contact, the rift burst into amethyst flames, slowly drifting through the air. A few of them hit the platform, slowly burning up as they did, while the rest of it slowly descended into the pit below.

Nepgear flew over to one of the holes and looked down. "Uh… Hey, aren't Dogoos flammable? And isn't the pit filled entirely with them? Maybe we shouldn't have-"

Before she could even finish, one of the embers came into contact with the slimes. Within mere moments, the entire pit was set aflame; an amethyst light cast upon the darkness of the arena. "Well… At least we can see now," Nepgear sweatdropped.

Black Heart's first instinct was to search for CFW Magic. It's impossible to hide in the shadows if there aren't any. She quickly found her sitting on the seat previously occupied by Rei, sitting cross-legged, looking down on the four of them with a sinister smile.

"There you are!" Black Heart remarked. "Nowhere left to hide, witch. It's time to end this little game."

The others quickly caught wind of Magic too, each of them readying their weapons once more.

"There is no more need for me to hide," Magic said as she got up and entered the ring once again. "You are right where I want you to be."

"You bitch!" White Heart insulted, stomping forward furiously. "Where the hell are my sisters! Where are they! If there's even as much as a single scratch on either of them, I'll rip your fucking head from your spine!"

Magic smiled briefly. Snapping her fingers, she pointed up towards the ceiling. With a quick glance, Black Heart spotted the twin sisters of Lowee. They were slowly being lowered, hanging from their wrists by chains unconsciously. Eventually coming to a stop, they hung far above the arena, unmovingly so.

White Heart immediately flew up towards them, but she stopped as a bolt of energy fired by Magic just barely missed her. "As if I'd allow you to bite the bait that has lured each of you in my trap."

"A trap, you say?" Green Heart asked.

The violet reaper summoned her scythe one final time. "Fools. Have you not realised it yet? This was all part of the plan. First, I'd lure every single one of you here, including Tari's CPU. Then, I'd exhaust you; make each of you fight formidable foes before I finally would come down and end your miserable lives myself."

Black Heart looked down. It was true. She did feel more exhausted. And it wouldn't be wrong to assume her friends were feeling at least a little more tired.

"And that's not all," Magic continued. "This monster attack wasn't just to cause chaos. I wanted to clear out the entire arena of followers. I have cut off a good portion of your share energy. There is no way you four will be able to stand against my power anymore! I am invincible!"

"You said something similar last time we fought," Nepgear pointed out. "And exactly because of that, there's no way we can lose again. We will rescue Rom and Ram!"

"Your struggles are futile. Unlike last time, I will be victorious. Because I had planned my victory long before any of you even entered the gates of Tari."

The devil's words had the full intent on battering at the CPU's resolves. Black Heart, however, could only smirk at her 'revelation'. This did not go unnoticed. "Hm? You would face your end with such a smile?"

"Do you honestly believe we're so oblivious we couldn't see the obvious elephant in the room here?" As Black Heart spoke, the other CPU's seemed to agree with her. "Of course, this was going to be a trap, and of course we'd be a little tired after those fights. But you know what?"

Reeling her blade back, Black Heart engulfed it in flames. "No matter what happens, we won't let you win. Ever!"

Magic closed her eye. Leaning forward, she took an assault stance, appearing extra ominous due to the violet embers in the air floating around her. "Then let me show you what lies beyond. Let me show you… Silence. Peace. And death."

Everyone took an assault stance before dashing forward to their opposing side. When each weapon clashed, a bright flash of light erupted from the point of collision.

Toby and IF quietly looked at the unfolding fight. With the pit of Dogoos on fire, they could easily make out what was happening down there. And with Compa and Falcom softly sleeping behind them, as well as the two announcers having fled the scene, it really was just the two of them all alone again. Odd how they always end up like this.

Leaning forward, Toby watched Magic easily evade the combined attacks of the CPUs. He could barely keep track of her. Her speed was truly intense. But the CPUs didn't slack behind either. They were moving far faster than they were before. " _Looks like they were holding back up until now…_ " He thought.

Holding his breath, Toby watched the tables turn as Magic was now on the offense. Firing several orbs of energy from the palm of her hand, she created dozens of explosions around the arena. None of them hit their target, however. With the exception of one hitting White Heart in the back, which quickly shrugged it off like it was nothing. Angered, she fired one of her specials: Gefarhlichtern.

Nepgear followed White Heart's lead and fired her M.P.B.L. as well. While it looked like they hit the witch, when the smoke cleared, it revealed she had protected herself with a barrier.

Green Heart and Black Heart quickly rushed in to catch her from behind, but the witch swung her scythe at them at the very last second, sending them crashing into the spectator stands.

Cold sweat started to run down the teen's back. This fight wasn't going to be easy, and Magic clearly had the upper hand here.

"You think they'll be fine?" Toby asked after clearing his throat.

IF didn't respond. She kept on watching the fight before her with a frown on her face. She clearly was still sour about… Well, everything.

"... Right. Whatever you say, IF."

Raising his wrist, Toby checked his watch after putting Siri's voice to mute. He had received a single message from Lithyum. ' _Subject: Urgenturgenturgenturgent!_ '

Massaging the back of his head, Toby opened the message.

" _Tari evacuated everyone, managed to slip by. Still in the arena, come find me backstage at the southern stairs. I found the candidates of Lowee! They're above the stage!1!"_

Nodding to himself, Toby got up and walked to the door. He chose to keep IF in the dark about his plan. It's not like she would've care. Besides, getting Rom and Ram to safety was probably a good idea. He wouldn't have put it below CFW Magic to hold them hostage as a last ditch effort. So there's no time to explain, really. It's all justified.

Just as he was about to turn the doorknob, IF exclaimed: "Where are you going?"

Unfortunately, just leaving out of the blue without saying a word is going to raise a few question marks. "Do you care?" Toby questioned, not even turning back to look at her.

"I do if it includes something reckless or plain stupid."

"No you don't," Toby snarled, opening the door and leaving. Checking his watch once more, he looked up the map for the Colosseum. The wifi connection was surprisingly good around here.

"Right… Just down the hall, downstairs, third door on the right. Easy enough…"

"H-hey! Toby! Get back here, right now!" IF commanded, running after the teen.

Toby stopped, allowing IF to catch up. He wasn't even sure why he bothered. "What do you want, Iffy? For all you know I'm just going home because I'm done here."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe you of all people would just walk away from a fight on a scale like this?"

Clicking his tongue, the teen narrowed his eyes. "You say it like you know me."

"I know you well enough. And I also just happen to know you tend to bite off more than you can chew." IF nodded to Toby's right shoulder: the steel bolt Compa wasn't able to remove still sticking out of it. A grim memento.

Toby didn't respond immediately. "When I need you, you're acting oblivious to my problems. When I don't want you, you buzz around me like a damn fly. Seriously, is this some sort of sick joke?"

IF slowly shook her head. "Ever since I kicked you out of our party, you've been acting like a whiny little bitch. What is your problem? Like, my Goddess, you're just being unbearable."

Taking a deep breath, Toby turned around and walked away. "I don't have time for this shit. Just… Fuck off, or whatever."

Checking his watch again, Toby made sure he was going the right way. Just when he turned it off, IF grabbed him by his left shoulder, turned him around and pushed him against the wall. With a loud thud, he felt a shock originating from his right shoulder traveling down his spine.

She angrily stared him dead in the eyes for what felt like an eternity before she finally spoke up. "Never before have I met _anyone_ that managed to make completely lose all respect for them in less than a day's time. Deep down, I knew you were being a coward; running away right when you're out of the heat."

IF's grasp tightened as she pushed her face got a little to close Toby's, her warm breath causing the teen's nostrils to curl up. Her expression furious, she looked like she wanted to gut the teen on the spot. "But you know what? Fine!"

Pushing him to the side, Toby stumbled a little before standing straight again. The agent turned her back on him once more. "You used to be cool… I wish I you would stop acting like you are the only one with problems. But now, I will _never_ forgive you for what you've become. A worthless, gutless, self-absorbed jerk."

With her fists clenched, IF slowly walked back to the announcer booth. "Find Histoire and go home… Coward… No one's going to miss you. And I certainly won't."

The moment IF took her first step, Toby's eyes averted to the ground. There was something about her words. Something about the look in her eyes that made Toby feel uneasy. It wasn't just blind anger or hatred aimed at his choice of actions. It was something else. Something he couldn't fully grasp. Someone that's just done with everything.

With each step she took, his mind became more and more clouded. Memories flashing in and out of his mind, conflicting with each other. Lithyum's analysis of how he perceived his troubles from just this morning, as well as Blanc's pep talk in the first round. They each played a pivotal role in what Toby was about to do next.

Clearing his mind, only one line remained in Toby's mind. " _Now or never_."

Grasping his old phone in his pocket, Toby inhaled through his nose, before calling back to IF. "I got a message from my friend Lithyum..." The agent stopped right when the name left his mouth. "She urgently requested of me to come meet her. She's found Rom and Ram and she needs my help."

Placing her hands in the pockets of her coat, IF remained frozen in place.

"Would you-..." almost choking on his own words, Toby took a few more breaths before he finally managed to bring out his message. And even then, he couldn't help but mask his intentions with an added insult. "I hate to say, but… I don't think we can do this with just the two of us."

IF slowly turned her head, meeting his gaze one final time. Staring each other down, she finally gave her response. "So you're finally going to be sensible? For Rom and Ram?"

"For Rom and Ram."

Closing her eyes, IF went into a deep, pensive thought. Or so it seemed to the self-proclaimed Orange Outplay. "You… This doesn't change anything. But fine. What are you waiting for then? Lead the way!"

IF ran to his side at a steady pace. While she wasn't expressing any joy, she looked a little more content with this temporary cease of fire. Their indifference would have had to wait. It was time to be today's hero.

Toby checked his watch one last time. He then nodded to himself once more before he mumbled to her. "Let's go…"

* * *

Lithyum quietly sat at the feet of the stairs calmly, holding a single white lily close to her ear.

"Hmm… Why can't you two just be honest to each other already? Blech. Whatever. Alright, me. Time to go back into that loli girl mindset."

Slapping both her cheeks twice, she did her best to look as panicked as possible. A duo of footsteps could be heard from around the corner. When they got close enough, both IF and Toby turned the corner. She, however, did not expect to meet them the way they looked.

The sleeves of IF's coat were torn to the elbows, as well as her shirt having a number of holes around the midsection. Her clothes were stained with dried blood and gave a rotten smell. Lastly, her face, other than being very sweaty, had a dozen of small scratches scattered across it.

Toby looked no better than her. With his shirt almost falling apart, only being held together in the middle by a few treats threads, there was a large, steel bolt sticking from out of his shoulder. The area around it was covered in numerous stained bandages. Much like IF, the smell was very apparent.

Lithyum eyes alternated between the two before she carefully embraced Toby in a hug. "You… Big dumdum."

Slowly, but carefully returning the gesture, Toby patted her on the back of her head. "I told you I'd be fine, didn't I?"

Pulling back, Lithyum made eye contact with him. "You call this fine?"

IF cleared her throat. " _Ahem_. Rom and Ram. You said you knew where they were."

"R-Right!" Lithyum stuttered, letting go of Toby. Pointing up the stairs at a steel door, she hopped in place a few times. "I've seen them dangling from a chain up there! I think they're unconscious… But that scary lady won't notice you if you walk over the lighting rig to rescue them… I think."

Toby and IF looked at each other before they climbed the stairs and raced to the door. Lithyum closely trailed behind, following them through the door. There was no time to waste with these two.

They found themselves just above the arena on the lighting rig. Surprisingly, there were quite a few flying monsters hanging around. They ranged from Horsebirds to Boxbirds to other avian monsters."There!" IF exclaimed, pointing at the centre of the rig. "Just under the main spotlight."

"Hum… Looks eas-" Toby was about to say, but IF put her hand before his mouth, muting him completely.

"Death flag. Don't say it."

Nodding, Toby pushed IF's hand away. "Right, right. Let's just go, okay?"

Navigating the setup proved to be rather difficult. As there was no straight path to the middle, with large gaps between each path, it took them a while to figure out how to get to the end. All the while the battle between CFW Magic and the CPUs raged on far below them.

Eventually, after fending off over a dozen of monsters, they reached the middle. But they quickly realised there was another problem.

Killing off the last Tetri with a blast of magic, Lithyum put her blade away. "That's the last of them! Yay… But… Uh… They tied the chains _under_ the rig. How are we supposed to get them down safely?" How did they even manage to do this?"

IF caressed her chin thoughtfully. "If we could somehow wake them up before untying them, they could just fly out on their own."

"So what you're saying is that one of us should climb down and shake them up?" Toby asked. "Hum… Well, considering it's a fifty metre drop, and I got an open wound in my shoulder, nearly disabling my entire left arm…"

"I don't think I can do it either," IF admitted. "I honestly feel sore all over. I don't think I'll be able to hold on."

"You don't sound tired," Toby pointed out, receiving an annoyed sigh from the agent.

"Results of hard training. Don't let your enemy feel your exhaustion."

"Right, right… Well, if neither of us can do it… Then…"

Both IF and Toby's eyes trailed to their last party member. She blinked a few times before raising her hands before her. "W-what!? Wait up, wait up! I'm, uh… I'm afraid of heights!" She lied. "I'll freeze up and probably get stuck down there."

"Seriously? Ugh." IF loosened her shoulder, before slowly taking her torn coat off. "Fine, I guess I'll-"

Putting a hand on IF's shoulder, Toby frowned. "I'll do it."

Silence lingered in the air. The agent's jaw then dropped. "You're joking. You literally have an open wound in your shoulder. If anyone should do-"

"Your entire body is numb, right?" Toby interrupted causing IF to gasp quietly. "It's just my left arm. I think I'm the best fit for this."

The two stared each other down, countless words being exchanged in silence. IF then gave him a nod. "Fine. Be careful, alright?"

Lithyum wondered why IF wouldn't be more reluctant to doing it herself, but she guessed it might be because she wouldn't mind it if Toby dropped to his dead here.

Just before the Orange Outplay could take the first step, Lithyum skipped towards him, tapping him twice on his shoulder. "Eject buttons work in here. If you're fast, you can press the button and warp outside, breaking your fall… Oki-doki?"

Nodding back, Toby lowered himself to the edge of the rig and climbed down. There was no time for the girls to watch, however.

"Lithyum! Behind you!" IF warned, taking out both her Katars and dashing right at the girl. Lithyum was no rookie when it came to battle and recognised what IF was doing. Ducking down, she allowed her ally to take care of the monster behind her.

Just as she Lithyum got back up, a pack of Boxbirds surrounded them. Ranging from the regular species to the kingly kind, the royal rascals quickly formed a wall around them.

Turning her back on the agent, Lithyum stood back to back against her ally. Raising her blade, she got in an assault stance. "Uh-oh… There's about… Uh… A lot of them. Can you still fight?"

"Tsk. Honestly, I'd rather be here than down there fighting CFW Magic or climbing down there to the twins. Let's do this!"

Covering each other's backs, the girls fought off any of the royal birds as they charged in.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

"Four, five, six, aaand seven," Geoffrey counted, moving the tiny dog along the board. "Community Chest! Ooh~! Get out of Jail free card. Lovely!"

During the chaos, Geoffrey had taken both Linda and Rei to the backstage lounge to further elaborate on his plans. Putting every last of their scare trust into the man, they both followed through.

Neither of them expected for _this_ to be his actual plan.

After gathering around a table, he pulled a board game from under his hat, explaining that playing the game was an essential part of his plan. After but only one turn, it already became clear to both women that this wasn't the case.

While Linda was able to keep all her frustration bottled up, Rei was a far less preserved than her. With a clear vein-mark pulsing on her head, she sat with her arms folded and her eyes closed.

"My Lady, it's your turn," the Oracle chirped, holding his hand with the dice out.

Tapping her finger against her arm, the CPU spoke in a hateful tone. "Why…"

"Why? Well, it's your turn because the turn order is counter-clockwise and-"

Slamming her fist on the table, knocking over several pieces of the game, Rei interrupted the man. "Not that. Why. The hell. Are we. Playing **fucking Monopoly** when there's a psycho threatening to destroy my nation!?"

Rei got awfully close to the man's face, the wickedness shadowing her eyes. The Adams Apple in the man's throat moved up and down once. "Well, it's, uh… Part of my three step plan. Step two: Play **fucking** **Monopoly**."

"Yeah, no, I find that hard to believe," Linda commented, leaning back in her chair and putting both her feet on the table. "Why don't you explain us the rest of the plan already?"

"Right! Just, uh… I'll explain as we play? I-Is that okay with you, my L-Lady?"

Without breaking eye contact, Rei snatched the dice from his hand and tossed them to the middle of the board. "I rolled a five. Move the damn wheelbarrow."

Doing as he was commanded, he began to explain his plan as he moved Rei's token. "Well, as you probably have realised, I sponsored this event to allow Tari to recover a few shares… And nothing more."

Quickly looking the other way, he cleared his throat. "Ahem. Anyway, with that in mind, all we need to do is take the credit, right? And now that Magic destroyed all camera's and scared away all spectators, all we have to do is take credit of defeating Magic first."

"And we're playing **Fucking Monopoly** because…?" Linda asked.

"Well, do you honestly think I would allow someone as lowly as CFW Magic to sully my Lady's hands? No no, we'll have the other CPUs take care of her for us. And while they are busy celebrating, we'll come out and steal all the credit. I already wrote the Chirper announcements, got the Emails ready for all online newspapers and scheduled an apology speech with Tari's News Network. By the time they catch on, everyone will think it was you who saved the day."

With the plan explained, Rei repeated it all in her mind, filling in the blanks on her own. It sounded like a flawless plan. For him to think of something like this on such a short term was quite respectable. Even if might not be fool proof.

"You know… That's actually kinda smart…" Linda admitted, narrow eyed. "But there's one glaring flaw."

"What's that?" Geoffrey asked, handing Linda the dice.

"What if the CPU broads lose? They're pretty fucking tired and I'm pretty sure all eight of them working together were barely able to overcome her last time."

Geoffrey shrugged. "All the better. If they die, I'll just have my Valkyries take care of her."

Rei frowned and raised her nose. "And if those fail, you want _me_ to get in there?"

"As expected of my Lady. Knows exactly what someone as simple minded as I am thinking."

Sighing, Rei leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "And we're playing **Fucking Monopoly** to kill time? You couldn't think of anything more fun to play?"

"Pff. Come now, don't complain. This game's fun… Oh, by the way. The spot you landed on sends you to jail, my Lady."

"Eh?"

Looking down at the board, Rei's wheelbarrow stood on the corner of the board, displaying a picture of an angry police officer, blowing a whistle in his mouth.

Taking the wheelbarrow between his thumb and index finger, Geoffrey gently moved the token the jail space. "Do not pass start. Do not recei-"

Quickly stopping the man, Rei took hold of the man's wrist. "I use my right as a CPU to _not_ go to jail."

Geoffrey's eyes widened with surprise. "But… But that's not how this game works…"

Swiping the token from the man's fingers, she put it one space ahead of the police space. "I also use my power as a CPU to wreck all your houses, blasting them into nothing but smouldering ashes."

"Oh come on! Linda, back me up here!"

"Yeah no," Linda said, grabbing the edge of the table. "I use my powers as a human being to create an earthquake and flip this table."

"No, wait wait wait wait!"

The man's pleads falling to deaf ears, Linda flipped the table, along with the board and its many pieces, scattering all over the floor.

"... You're just pissed you're stuck with the shoe because I picked the dog before you," Geoffrey deadpanned.

The delinquent cocked a smile. "That's because you _are_ a dog."

Rei covered her mouth and snickered, causing the man to turn to her in annoyance. "Wha-... Well… Screw you too. Nngh. Alright, what do you two want to play then? According to the text I got from Valkyrie #6044, Magic and the CPUs are still going at it."

Rei and Linda looked at each other for a minute. As the CPU of Tari scoffed, Linda asked "... You got Jenga under that hat?"

Geoffrey took his hat off and flipped it upside down. "Err… I actually, I do. It's missing a brick, though."

"We'll take it," the delinquent instantly replied. "Everything's better than **Fucking Monopoly**."

With his fists raised to his chin, shaking them like some over-excited teenage girl, Geoffrey's eyes sparkled. "Awesomesauce! I'll build the tower!"

Suppressing the urge to sigh, Rei rolled her eyes. She hated this. All of it. But even she could clearly see that there was nothing she could do at the moment.

Within a minute, the Oracle had built a perfectly straight Jenga tower on the floor, a single block missing at the very top. Linda squatted down before it. "Heh. This game's the real deal, man. I used to play this all the time when I was still a little twerp."

Geoffrey crouched, leaning on one knee. "Oh! Oh! Can I start? Aww, can I?"

Rei sat down cross-legged. "How about 'no, the CPU has the right to go first', yes?"

And with that, Rei stuck his finger out, attempting to push out the first block… Causing the entire tower to topple instantly on the first turn.

* * *

 **16.3 - One Last Time, Mister Karston**

Slowly lowering himself over the edge, Toby stopped in place. " _I really didn't think this through, did I?_ "

Shaking his head, he forced the thought away. At this point, it was best not to think about it anymore. It was only going to get worse from this point forward.

Clutching on to the cold steel bars, he carefully climbed down, each step feeling heavier and slower than the last.

An aching cramp called out from his shoulder, begging him to stop. Gritting his teeth, Toby only hoped the wound wouldn't open again.

Step by step, he got closer to the twins. They were so close, yet so far away.

Finally getting to the point he couldn't move down any further, he was about halfway there. Now came for the hard part. Monkey barring to the middle.

For a good minute, Toby just leaned on the rig. The fear of falling grew ever worse as he looked down. Up until now, he hadn't noticed the twins were hanging right above one of the many holes in the arena. One slip would mean he'd fall straight into the pits of literal hell fire.

The teen glanced back to the twins. Just three bars of climbing without using his feet. Sweaty hands and all. And including the injury on his shoulder.

Breathing in and out, Toby mentally prepared himself for the task.

"I've faced worse odds," Toby groaned, letting his feet slip and grappling the lowest possible bar.

The first bar was easy enough to reach. Stretching one hand forward, he soon moved one step forward. It was the second bar where things got much harder.

With his palms sweaty, the angst of slipping any second swirled around the teen's mind more and more. The uneasy feeling of freedom under his feet dropped like a rock in his stomach.

Clenching his eyes shut, the teen reach for the second bar. Missing the first time, he quickly tried again, catching it and letting of the first bar as he did.

Taking quick but deep breaths, there was only one bar left before he would be close enough to the twins.

With his arms feeling ever so sore, and his mind shutting itself down at an exponential rate, Toby's grasp on the bars loosened. "Oh-, nghh!"

Toby let go of the bar for a split second with his right hand to readjust his grasp. And right as he did, it was a little too much pressure for his left shoulder.

A warmth spread over Toby's left side. Giving it a quick glance, the orange bodywarmer was now sticky and stained with a crimson fluid.

Holding his breath, he felt his left arm going numb. "Now or-... Ghh… N-n-... Never!"

Keeping himself motivated, he pushed forward one last time and just barely managed to get to the third and final bar. Being close enough to the chain, he wasted no time and wrapped his legs around it, sliding down until his rear hit one of the teens on the top of their head.

Finally letting air fill his lungs once more, the teen caught his wind exhaustedly.

Huffing and puffing, Toby couldn't help but smile… Until he realised he probably should've thought this through.

"Uh… How do I… How do I wake them from here? How am I going to untie them once they're awake?"

Frozen like a statue, Toby's mind blue screen'd on him.

"... Fuck."

Doing his best, Toby softly 'slapped' the twins' cheeks with his feet. "Hey! Hey! Wake up! C'mon. Wake up… Seriously, what did they feed you two? Ugh. Maybe IF or Lithyum know what to do."

Just when he took a breath to shout for help, Toby noticed a red glow getting brighter right behind him. Turning his head, he witnessed just the final moments of a magical orb hitting him in the back.

With an electric surge coursing through his body, his fingers forced themselves to let go of the chain, causing the teen to drop.

Unsure of what was happening anymore, as the shock nearly shut down his entire brain, Toby felt free as he fell to his doom.

His surroundings slowly went black. Everything felt so surreal. There was but one sentence Toby's ear managed to process.

" _Defensive Cheer!"_

Right as the teen was shocked with a feeling similar to getting hit by a truck, his mind instantly was slapped awake again. "Oww! W-wha?! What happened? Where-... Err.."

Opening his eyes, Toby realised he was on the arena again. Specifically the edge of one of its many holes. How very fortunate. "H-how the hell- * **cough** *... How the hell... am I alive... after that drop?"

Right behind him, he heard an evil laugh aimed at him. "Another worm trying to rescue his kin," CFW Magic spoke maliciously. "Don't worry. They're safe on that hook. Though, I would've wished you would have perished from that attack."

Behind her stood Nepgear and the others. They attempted to dash to Toby's aid, but Magic raised her scythe to stop them.

Toby tried to stand up. Just when he managed to get both feet flat on the ground, a shock pulsed through his left leg, forcing him kneel down, as well as reach for his left shoulder. It was a strange sensation, but after the fall, all the pain his body had grown numb to him.

Magic altered her vision between Toby and the CPUs. "I suppose bait that has proven its usefulness is obsolete." She pointed two fingers at the twins, a red spark of energy shaping itself at the tip. "... Vanish!"

"No!" White Heart cried, raising her axe overhead before bringing it down. Just before Magic reacted by dashing the other way, she had already fired her attack, breaking the chains keeping them suspended and sending them falling to their doom.

The three other CPUs took off at an alarming speed to catch the twins, but as the witch pushed White Heart back, she fired three bolts of energy, each hitting its mark.

Toby watched the twins drop down, unable to do anything about it. Horrified as he may be, he couldn't fly nor teleport. But that didn't stop him from doing something extremely reckless.

Ignoring all the signals his body was giving, Toby jumped back a few steps away from the hole, just barely keeping himself standing. As his reflexes did the work for him, his hand shot to his hammerspace, drawing an eject button from it.

Sprinting forward, he leaped forward above the hole, trying to catch the twins on their fall. Being just a little late, Toby flailed his arms, before dropping along with the Candidates, missing his mark completely. "Awawaw- Noooooo!"

But he hadn't given up yet. It would still be another long drop until the flames would consume them. Holding his legs together and stretching his right arm out, the teen dove to the twins.

He definitely fell faster than the twins did. The real question was whether he would catch them before the flames would.

Not a moment to spare, he straightened himself even more. With the heat only rising as they got closer to the bottom. With each inch, the heat's intensity rose even higher, embers grazing his cheek and the toxic fumes filling his lungs.

Until…

"I got you!"

Right as the words left his mouth, he pulled Ram by her ankle, pulling her and her sister towards him. Hugging them both, he used his free hand to mash the eject button he was still holding. The heat of the flames was getting dangerously hot.

Clenching his eyes shut after pushing the button, he prayed to god it would work.

…

…

…

Silence.

Complete peace.

Sure of one thing, Toby knew he wasn't falling anymore. Or at least, he thought so. His entire body had shut itself down, unable to feel anything. Either he was dead or still 'alive' with all of his limbs unable to respond to anything.

The task to squeeze either of the twins with his hand to feel if he was still holding on to them was impossible to him. He couldn't feel anything under his neck, let alone his hands. So the only option was for him to finally open his eyes.

Afraid of what he might see, they slowly peeled open. Just as his sight adjust itself to the lighting, it took him a moment for his blurry vision to tell him where he was. There was one thing his eyes immediately caught, however. Looking down, he spotted the back of a long-haired brunette's head.

Gasping, everything around him became clear. He was just outside the Colosseum. Laying on the ground next to the chained up Rom and Ram.

Shooting to a sitting position, he scrawled back. With deep and heavy breaths, and his heart pounding so strongly, it felt like it would pop out of his chest, Toby couldn't help but laugh.

"Heh… Eheh… Ahahah… Haha-, Oh-, * **cough** * _Blech!_ "

Spitting up a literal gallon of blood, he wiped his lips with the back of his wrist. "Ueegh… Right… Rom and-... Ram… Gotta… Wake them u-... u-... Ughh.."

The thought of helping them was drowned out by the ringing in his ears. Truly at his limit, his head started to feel very light. His sense of balance completely lost to him, everything faded to black.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

...

Warm

…

…

…

Quiet

…

…

…

Peace

…

…

...

Today's coward

…

…

…

Becomes tomorrow's hero

…

…

…

You did well

…

…

…

I envy your courage

…

…

…

And so does Uni

…

…

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You deserve to be here

…

…

…

But your time is not yet over

…

…

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I know you

…

…

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I know you well enough

…

…

…

To know you don't like loose ends

…

…

…

But the choice is yours

…

…

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Won't you join me

…

…

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I won't reject you again

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I promise

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I see

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The choice is yours

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…

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And this is what you wanted

…

...

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We will meet again

…

…

…

Sooner than you might think

…

…

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After all

…

…

…

 **I am already a part of this story**

…

…

...

A magical sensation coursed through the teen's veins. It was comforting, filling him with great pleasure as well as pushing all the negative feelings away. The touch of an angel, here to guide him to the afterlife? If so, he would not hesitate to take her up on her offer. It felt like bathing in a hot spring after a long day's work.

After so long, he finally felt happy. Accomplished. Even if this was the end, he was alright with it. He had a good run and in the end, he proved himself. Even someone as unimpressionable as IF would have to praise him for his deeds, right?

Toby smiled. The ringing in his ears finally disappeared, along with the cramp in his left shoulder, filling him with true peace. "I'm okay with this…"

"Are you feeling better, mister?" A soft voice asked of him.

Nodding, Toby replied. "Much, much better…"

"So… Are you going to get up, or…?" Another more childish voice asked of him. It didn't take Toby long to recognise both voices.

"W-wait a second!"

His eyes shot open. To his surprise, before him stood the twins of Lowee, holding their staves out to him with a green glow surrounding it.

Startled, he jumped to his feet, quickly coming to the realisation that all of the previous pain and complaints had vanished like snow to the sun. There was but one cramp still left in his shoulder.

Looking at said shoulder, he found the steel bolt to be still stuck in it. Pinching it by the back, Toby pulled it out, his flesh mending itself to close the wound formed by it. "Whoa… I'm actu-... I'm actually alive!?" He smirked. "Holy shit, I'm actually alive…"

"Uhh… Who are you?" Rom carefully asked, pointing her staff the other way.

"I'm not dead… Whoa… That's like-... Eh? O-oh. Err… Hi. I'm Tobias. Tobias Karston. But call me Toby. Wait. You two… Are you alright?"

Kneeling down to meet Rom at eye level, Toby softly put his hands on her shoulders, examining the girl from top to bottom.

"U-uh… M-mister Toby? You're scaring me…"

"Eh? Oh, uh, right! Right. Well, you look like you're okay."

Toby wanted to ask how they managed to free themselves, but looking past the twins, he spotted a pile of frozen, broken chains. Figures.

What creeped Toby out the most was the fact that Ram, the more eccentric of the two, hadn't said anything as of yet. "Uh… What about you, kid? Are you alright?"

"H-huh? I-... I'm fine! Just… Just who are you?"

Toby blinked thrice before tilting his head. "I just told you, didn't I? The name's Tobias Karston. Just call me Toby, alright?"

Ram went silent once more. Neither Toby nor Rom understood was going on in her head, but it was… Something.

"Ahem, anyway," Toby murmured, breaking the awkward silence. "I need the help of you two. There's little time to explain, but basically your sister and Nepgear are fighting CFW Magic right as we speak. They need help. Right now."

"B-Blanc's in danger?" Rom stammered.

Toby nodded. "She's just behind those doors. She's waiting for you two."

Rom glanced to her sister, which had been gazing at Toby for the longest time. Tugging her sister's sleeve, Rom shook her back to reality. "Ram… We have to… Rescue Blanc!"

"Huh? Uhh… Y-yeah! I know! C'mon! Let's go!" She exclaimed, transforming along with her sister before flying straight through the double doors of the Colosseum.

Leaving Toby behind, he sighed and closed his eyes.

"... I'm actually alive… Which means-*..."

Gasping, he took his old phone out of his pocket and he stared at the screen. _No Signal_ the screen read. Soon enough, he'd be able to call everyone from back home once more. His friends. His family. Everyone. And why stop there? He was about to see them again. Hear them again. Hold them again.

Taking a few steps away from the door, Toby stopped. Looking over his shoulder, he stared back at said door. Something didn't feel right. While his mind was telling him to leave as soon as he could, his gut felt obligated to turn back.

But why? There was nothing left for him here. He was done here. He fought valiantly alongside his… Well, companions. He rescued the twins. He even knew he deserved to walk away now. Histoire was waiting, after all.

"Then why can't I stop feeling so unfulfilled?" Toby questioned to himself.

This wasn't about meeting with Lithyum. He knew she would come and follow him wherever he went… Somehow.

This wasn't about seeing that faithful smile on Blanc's face after she probably assumed her sisters had perished along with him in the flames of hell. He'd feel out of place if he just forced himself into that heartfelt reunion. This would've been something between the sisters of Lowee.

This wasn't about seeing Magic finally die again. If anything, this was a solid reason _not_ to return to the arena.

So what was this feeling, nagging at his gut? What was this feeling of regret and sorrow?

Placing one hand on his heart, Toby knew there was only one way to figure out what it was that told him to go back. He knew he'd live to regret it if he didn't follow it.

Turning back around, Toby stepped through the double doors back into the arena.

* * *

 **16.4 - The Lowee Three**

CFW Magic swung her scythe horizontally, grazing White Heart's leg as she flew backwards. "G-Gahh!"

Jumping back, White Heart tried to land on her feet, but lost her balance and dropped on her rear.

"D-Damn it… I-... I won't let you- Ngrr!"

The simple task of standing straight already took all of the White CPU's power. Even for someone as durable as her, each of Magic's attack hit with such force, not even she could stand against them for too long.

With her allies long out for the count, White Heart was the last one standing. Her friends were scattered around the arena, unconscious in their human form. At this rate, defeat was inevitable.

Magic strode closer to the exhausted CPU, the palm of her hand extended out, sparks of black energy forming around it. "Is that the best the four of you could do? Pathetic."

Leaning on her axe, White Heart managed to stand up. She opened her mouth to retort, but instead let out a few coughs. Catching her breath, she lowered her head and pounded her chest, trying to force the saliva trapped in her throat out.

Magic kept on creeping closer, until her palm was inches away from White Heart's head. The evil sparks shined brightly. The CPU could feel the heat resonating before her.

"Do you… Hear that?" Magic slowly spoke. "Do you feel the bells of the Gamindustri Graveyard chiming once more? They are an omen to your death. A guide to your eternal resting place. To meet the beyond, at long last."

Biting the wall of her mouth, Lowee's CPU faced her dead, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. "You… Arrogant, edgy bitch! Do you honestly believe you've won?"

The witch gave no response. She only looked down in disgust at her opponent, clinging on to hope so desperately.

"No… I will _never_ give up. You killed them! You fucking murdered them! Rom. Ram. If anyone's meeting their end, it's going to be you! You're dead! You hear me!? Dead!"

Unable to keep her composure, tears started streaming down the CPU's cheeks. Her false bravado was evident to everyone—even herself. The fear of losing both sister having finally become reality, White Heart had lost all hope of fighting. There was no reason for her to win anymore. Not without Rom or Ram. Toby even gave his life to try and save them. As heroic it might've been, he failed them. She failed him. She failed her sisters. She failed everyone. All of Gamindustri. Left to deal with CFW Magic on its own accord.

The energy in Magic's palm shined at its brightest. The spell made to execute the CPU was ready.

A seemingly eternal silence held to CPU in anticipation. Magic stood frozen, savouring every last second of the moment she'd been longing for. For so long. Finally, she gave the CPU her final parting words. "Rest in eternal darkness. Begone!"

The moment Magic was done, the vision of Lowee's CPU faded to white. She expected an excruciating pain to finish her, draining every last drop of life out of her.

But instead, she felt… Warm?

When her vision cleared, Magic was sent across the arena, standing with her scythe in hand, looking rather livid.

"W-What?"

"We won't let you hurt big sister!"

"You hurt Blanc… Prepare to be punished."

The voices that spoke from behind her… Could it be?

Turning around, White Heart's eyes went wide with surprise. Both Rom and Ram were there in their HDD, holding their staffs out. Looking down at her own hand, White Heart noticed she had been coated with a green aura. The twin's healing magic. "Rom! Ram! Is that really you? Could it-... Could it be?"

Her mind couldn't comprehend what was happening. Was it a dream? Or did her sisters really come to her rescue.

… But… If they are alive… Then that means…

Looking around the arena, White Heart searched or Toby. Did he really somehow succeed in rescuing them?

Just then, the teen dramatically pushed a set of double doors open, stepping into the Colosseum with the outside light blurring his figure. For some reason, White Heart couldn't help but feel proud of the teen, as well as _very_ thankful and relieved.

She wanted to embrace her sisters. To tell them how glad she was that they were okay. To tell them how worried she had been over the course of the week. But it had to wait. CFW Magic had to be dealt with first.

Turning her back on her sisters, White Heart dried her eyes with the back of her hand, replacing all sorrow with confidence. "You two ready to kick some butt?"

"You bet we are!" Ram cheered.

Rom nodded twice. "We won't lose!"

Magic was less than amused by the reappearance of the twins. "Like roaches they return. I suppose I should crush you all like the bugs you are."

Dashing forward, Magic pulled her scythe back over her shoulder, the tip of the blade poking out from behind her head. In retaliation, White Heart clashed her axe with against the scythe at such force, she knocked the weapon right out of Magic's hands.

"Take this! Tanzerin Trombe!" White Heart exclaimed. Firmly grasping the handle of her axe and pushing her heels back against the floor, she began to spin with her axe out, each hitting giving her the satisfying feeling of recoil and rewarding her with a loud grunt from the felon. After hitting Magic five times, she stopped and pulled her weapon back to finish with an overhead smash. Just before she could hit her mark, Magic pulled herself back, avoiding the incoming blade by an inch, taking a few strands of hair with it as it moved past her head.

Magic flew back to retrieve her weapon once more. Just as the tips of her fingers touched the handle, she was struck by a flurry of icicles in the back, making her overshoot her mark and crash into the wall. A brief cheer echoed through the arena as Rom and Ram high-five'd each other.

Unrelenting, White Heart chased after her.

Recovering quickly, Magic pointed both her palms forward. A red magical glyph formed itself within the blink of an eye, unleashing a barrage of fireballs. Flames spread with each fireball that hit the platform. Four hit true and crashed into the CPU, bursting in thick layers of smoke. She didn't expect White Heart to just charge head first through the spell, unaffected by any of it. Her speed remained equal until she dove out of the smoke, smashing Magic's mid-section against the wall.

The impact was strong enough to crack the wall behind her, forcing Magic's mouth and eyes to shoot wide open. "G-Gwaargh!?"

Recovering from the heavy attack as if it was nothing, she raised her hand, engulfed in a dark aura, and took hold of the CPU's face, digging her fingernails in her skin.

" _That attack didn't finish her off!?"_ Blanc wondered.

Electricity coursing through her entire body, White Heart felt herself get dragged by her face and tossed against the flooring. She rolled along the cold steel until she came to a natural stop.

Her vision was filled with stars. Slightly off balance, she tried to get up on her own. Rom's healing magic made the job much easier, however. As her vision sharpened and her balance returned, her heartbeat calmed itself. As she faced up again, she witnessed Ram holding Magic's energy attacks back with a crude wall of ice, each attack shattering it a little, causing the younger twin to respond by repairing any damage done to it.

Nodding as a token of gratitude, White Heart jumped up and flew right over Ram, catching Magic, once again, by surprise.

"This is the end!" She exclaimed, pulling her axe back to slice Magic right in half, aiming the blade of her axe to hit right between her eyes.

With a loud metallic clang, the axe impacted upon the last-minute barrier instead, bouncing back after cracking said barrier. "Useless!"

Rom and Ram dashed right past the barrier from either side. Magic watched them charge up an attack, knowing well enough that she should stop them. She tried to turn, but White Heart pushed against her barrier once more, forcing her to stay in place.

"Take This! Ice Coffin!"

"Ice! Coffin!"

A sigil appeared around the pair as they slammed the end of their staffs against the floor. In the next moment, Ice rapidly rose from underneath Magic, trapping her in a frozen prison, before shattering as quickly as it appeared. And right as she was about to drop to her knees, White Heart had taken it upon herself to swing her axe against Magic's face like a golf club, sending the witch spinning through the air, before bouncing off the floor twice, finally landing on her back.

Regrouping, the three of them waited for Magic to get back up again.

Black and blue all over, Magic stood on both feet. Unarmed and wounded, things started to look very bleak for the felon. "A futile second-wind, nothing more. Your struggles will fruit no results."

"Hey, she's not staying down!" Ram pointed out. "Ugh! What's with this creep?"

"She's not... dying…" Rom confirmed softly.

White Heart too was getting tired of this. There has to be some way to end this, right? They might have the upperhand now, but Magic was no ordinary foe. If they would give her even one chance to counterattack, it would spell the end for them.

White Heart let her eyes wander. She had to think. If there was one thing she had learnt from Toby, it's that you can beat any foe with a plan. That much was evident when he presented his plan to completely wash the Emal Elites' resolves away.

"Wait a second…"

Seeing the purple embers dance along the air, she remembered where they were. Or to be more precise, what they were fighting on. She quickly looked around the arena, spotting the chains keeping the platform suspended. She then looked back at Magic, which almost snapped out of her daze.

"That's it! Rom! Ram!" White Heart called out. "I know how to beat her!"

Embracing both by the backs of their heads, she pulled them closer and whispered her plan to them. "Alright, here is what we'll do… First… Get Nepgear, Vert and Noire off the platform… Then…"

Further explaining her plan in a whispering tone, the twins had a quizzical expression on their faces when she was finished, before slowly nodding in understanding.

Magic, unaware of their plot, dashed to her lost scythe once again. It was evident she needed it if she wanted a shot at winning this battle.

But much like last time, the twins proved themselves to be as annoying as ever. Launching a beam of frozen magic at the weapon, ice started to carve itself around it, trapping it well in its place.

Magic stopped, cursing the twins underneath her breath. Extending her hand out again, a blue glyph of magic formed in her palm, firing energy bolts one after another. She aimed to take the twins down, regardless of how nimble they were. As desperation started to take over rational thinking, she completely forgot about her main opponent.

White Heart flew down one of the holes of the arena and moved underneath the platform towards the nearest hole she had seen Magic last. Peeking over the edge, she saw Magic deflecting icicles with a barrier. She was a little too far away for her plan to work.

"Tsk. Damn it… Hey, Ra-" Quickly covering her mouth, she almost forgot she was trying to be stealthy here. Instead, she waved to her sister. Ram didn't instantly see it, but after she peeked out of the hole a little more, it was pretty clear to her that White Heart was mouthing something at her. " _Get that bitch closer to me… Closer! Clo-ssssser_."

Ram, seemingly understand her sister, led her twin's attack by aiming her attacks at Magic's feet, she forced her to slowly stumble backwards, right towards White Heart.

Step by step, she was almost close enough for the plan to work.

Just a little more.

Just. A. Little. More.

Just… A… Little… More…

And then…

"Now!"

Jumping from out of her cover, White Heart latched onto Magic's back, right as she tried to turn around. Wide eyed, she attempted to shake her off. "What the-... Nuisance! Let go of me, right this instance!"

Grasping the base of her steel wings, she mended the metal to fit her hand. Pushing against Magic's back with her feet, she used all of her strength to pull Magic by her wings. "Nghh… I finally know how to end your miserable life!"

Magic's eyes slowly widened. Showing her teeth, she slowly floated upwards, getting pulled back by White Heart.

Grunts of agony escaping her lips, she couldn't bear to say anything.

"You might keep coming back again and again and again… But you know what?"

Spreading her own wings, White Heart used the full force of her processor unit to rip the steel from Magic's back.

"We'll be ready for you. Every. Fucking. Time!"

The metal began to creak, slowly giving in to White Heart's force. Magic felt every inch they stretched out. Every millimeter was a form of torture on its own.

"It's time to clip you of your wings! Gyaaa!"

In one final pull, Lowee's CPU ripped the wings from the witch's back. Dropping like a brick, she collapsed on the floor, only to be instantly frozen in place by her limbs.

White Heart looked at her sisters to confirm if they had done their part of the plan. After they both gave confirming nods, she looked over her shoulder at one of the many chains. Frozen to its base. Like the rest of them. Minimal force would be required to shatter it. She then scanned the arena. Noire, Vert and Nepgear were nowhere to be seen.

"Time to end this."

Flying up and landing on the lighting rig, she looked down at Magic. Frozen as she may be, she still struggled to escape. Reluctant to the end.

Inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, White Heart placed her axe over her shoulder. With a step forwards off the platform into the air, she let herself fall straight down, right at Magic, never letting her out of her sight. Just before she got too close, she took the handle of her weapon in both hands and began somersaulting. Using this momentum she created, she swung at Magic's torso at full speed. " **Die!** "

* **Smash** *

A shockwave emitted through the entire arena. The ice holding Magic in place shattered, along with her back.

The chains holding the platform suspended broke into a hundred pieces. With nothing keeping the platform up, it began to tumble down into the fiery pit.

White Heart spread her wings and flew up, watching it, as well as Magic, obey gravity. It was a surreal sight, watching her opponent fade into the flames of hell.

That was until the steel platform hit the bottom, causing a deafening metal clank to echo through the arena. White Heart flinched from it, closing her eyes and turning her head the other way for a second, before looking back down at the pit. There was no trace left of Magic or the platform. There was only the raging, neverending fire.

"It's over…"

Slowly floating down to the spectator seats, White Heart undid her HDD, dropping herself on one of the many seats. Rom and Ram were sure to follow, also undoing their HDD.

"Blanc!" Both cried, jumping in their sister's arms.

Tired as she may be, she hugged them back the moment they latched onto her. "Heh… You two… Did great back there."

Both twins hugged their sister tighter. They repeated Blanc's name over and over, crying their eyes out. "Blanc! Blanc!"

The brunette smiled warmly. "It's alright. It's over. No one's going to harm you anymore."

Both twins kept on crying, unable to contain their emotions. Understandably so. It had been nearly half a year since they had seen their sister again, considering right when Blanc escaped, Rom and Ram had been captured.

For longest time, they sat there, holding each other in their arms. They wanted nothing more, but to be together. All the while, Blanc felt happy to finally be reunited with them. The comforting feeling of holding them in her arms once more. It was something she had been looking forward to for so long. And to think that at one point she believed she would never get to hold them again.

Rom's hands grabbed onto Blanc's coat, burying her face into it."Blanc, we- * **sniff** * we-... Missed you so much!" She uttered through her crying.

Pulling on Blanc's dress, Ram looked her sister in the eyes. "Never leave us again, you dummy!" She said in a slightly annoyed tone, trying to sound a little tougher.

"Heh… I can't make any promises. Why don't we go home? We've been hanging around here for far too long."

Rom raised her head, an innocent expression along her face. "Can we… Get some ice cream… Along the way?"

The twins backed up from Blanc as she got up from her seat. Holding her hands out to both of them, she waited for them to hold her hand. "We can get as much ice cream as you two want… Come on. I don't want you two spending another second in this place."

The two of them were quick to accept. Rom carefully wrapped her fingers around Blanc's, softly holding her big sister. Ram grabbed onto her hand a little more forcefully, clenching it as hard as a girl her age could.

With both twins in hand, she finally knew she would never let them go again.

Taking both of them as they climbed the stairs towards the nearest exit, the twin sisters of Lowee dried their eyes. It didn't take long for Ram to speak her mind.

"Hey, Blanc… Can I get vanilla ice cream with minty chocolate chips. Oh, and disco dip on top!"

Blanc looked up, as if she had to think about the idea. "Hmm… I don't know. I'll have to think about it."

"Aww, please!" Ram pleaded, tugging her sister's sleeve. "Please, please, please, pleaaase!"

Letting out a faint giggle, Blanc looked down at the girl. "I'm not sure… Well, alright then. I suppose you can."

Pumping her fist in the air, Ram internally cheered. Looking at her twin sister, she asked her "what about you, Rom? What flavour would you like?"

The older twin had to think about her response carefully. "I want… Strawberry… With lots of caramel sauce on top of it," She beamed, looking back at her big sister, her big, round, puppy eyes. "C-Can I have it? Pretty please?"

"Of course. Would you like to have disco dip like Ram?"

Pausing again, she hesitantly replied. "Uhh… I want…Banana slices… And a cherry."

"Oooh!" Ram said in awe. "That sounds super yummy. Hey, Blanc, can I also have a cherry on top of mine?"

Once more, Blanc nodded to her sister. "If that is what you want, sure. You can even have two cherries, if you'd like."

"Can I really? Woo!"

"Uhh… Blanc… What are you… Having?"

"Me?" Blanc wondered, looking back at the older twin. "Hmm… I think I'll have a dame blanche."

"With a cherry on top?" Rom asked.

"With _two_ cherries on top?" Ram quickly asked.

"With _three_ cherries on top." Blanc declared.

Like innocent kids, their expression was one of awe, looking at their sister in amazement. "Whoa!"

With ice cream set in mind, the three of them walked through the double doors of the Colosseum. As she finally stepped outside, Blanc let a breath of fresh air fill her lungs. For the longest time, the smell of blood and burning slime had been killing her. But at long last, after three full rounds of Anarchy Arena, she had prevailed. And she had both her rewards in either hand.

Later that night, Blanc would buy Rom and Ram ice cream, as well as a new picture book along the way. She even carried them both back to Tari's CPU hotel, as they had fallen asleep during the 'short' preview Blanc decided to give in the park.

And with that, the last official Anarchy Arena came to an end.

* * *

 **HyperDimension Neptunia — Ruination**

 **Return of ASIC**

* * *

 **Whoa. Man. It's done. No, seriously. It's done, even for me. I'm writing these author notes** _ **after**_ **I checked the entire thing. Which is usually not how I do it, but I suppose with such a big project, things are going to be slightly different.**

 **So, like I mentioned at the very start of this chapter, there's a few things I'd like to say.**

 **First, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm terribly sorry for the mass delay. I do hope the quality made up for it, though. This really was the biggest project I've ever had. I put a lot of effort in that last fight scene. Also, thanks to the three people that beta read it. A.S. M.F. , Shattersoul and Symantra. You people rock.**

 **Second, I would like to announce I'm creating a beta reader profile. While it's not up yet (because Porpol needs his sleep), I will soon be among the people you can ask to beta read your work. Honestly, I somehow doubt** _ **anyone**_ **is going to read this, and if they are, they wouldn't ask for my help. So, I'm not expecting anyone to approach me anytime soon. But if you do, you're guaranteed to get my help. You might be the only person to ask me ;P**

 **And finally, I would like to say that the arc isn't quite over yet. There's still someone that has unfinished business hanging around. A certain Orange Outplay. He'll be getting his attention in the next few chapter(s). In fact, I originally planned on putting right here, after all of Blanc's troubles. But it didn't feel right. This is Blanc's moment. Toby doesn't need to take the spotlight all the time.**

 **And that's all I've got to say. I'm more than happy that I'm finally done with this one, but I can't say I didn't enjoy writing this chapter, or any of this arc's chapters for that matter.**

 **So with that, I'll take my leave. I'll have to find Shadicgon… He owes me a cute anime girl.**

 **Oh, who am I kidding, the Author Notes are a complete jumble of words. That means I usually drop a spoiler on what's coming next. (Seriously, go back to previous chapters' closing A/N. There are spoilers there)**

 **Next up, Geoffrey Lucian Lance, Linda, Rei and a completely new character, which will make her debut long after Toby's troubles have been dealt with, will take the spotlight. As Lance tries to prove to Linda he's still a genius, Rei starts to feel 'something' related to this new character…** **π*11*e, makes her debut as the final OC of this fic. Can you guess what her real name is?**

 **Until then!**

 **Next arc: Unity in Death**


	17. Chapter 17 - Goodnight Gamindustri

**Red alert! It's done a week early! The next chapter is going to get delayed by six weeks! Abort! Abort!**

 **Anyway, jokes aside (And hoping I really** _ **don't**_ **delay it by six weeks). I just really got in a groove for this one. And it was done rather quickly. I did take my time, though… So I hope it was worth the effort, because this certainly was a chapter that has kept my head scratching for a very long time. More on that in the ending notes. Let's see if my hard work paid off.**

 **Reviews!**

-Shadicgon: You have 72 hours to deliver her to me… Or else!... Oh. But thanks for the kind review. Not gonna lie, I agree with you on agreeing with IF. Toby really is being a jerk. Go see if he fixes his wrongs in this chapter… I mean, I already know. The review responses are the last thing I do before spell checking.

-maizestudent21: Your waiting is officially over! Behold!

-Anibi: Wait, last time, wasn't your name-... Err… Hey! It's you! Anyway, thank you very much for your review. I don't have much more to say than 'you know what I PM'd you'. For others reading this, it's just me going 'whoaaaa, uwaaaa, you wrote a really cool review. Fanks'. So you're not really missing out on anything… Yeah, I respond to (most) reviews with a PMs as well as in-story and they're both different messages. What about it?

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Goodnight Gamindustri**

Toby pressed his hand against the double doors of the arena, pushing them open as he stepped in dramatically. Looking down into the pit, he spotted White Heart looking back up at him. There was a mixture of happiness and relieve in her expression.

"You're welcome…" Toby groaned under his breath as he walked down the stairs of the spectator stands. White Heart quickly returned her attention to CFW Magic, standing on the other far end of the arena. "Looks like the final battle is about to begin."

Sitting down on the second row from the front, Toby leaned back in the plastic seat. Twiddling his thumbs, he wondered if the CPUs of Lowee would be a match for the violet reaper. After all, she was strong enough to beat four CPUs without breaking a sweat. So it wouldn't be very surprising to see them get completely dominated in this fight.

"Toby!" A girlish voice screamed his name. Running from all the way of the other side of the arena was Lithyum.

Getting up from his seat again, Toby slowly walked towards his friend with open arms. "Lithyum…"

Once she was close enough, she leaped off the ground and jumped into the teen's arms. Stumbling back a few steps, Toby barely managed to keep himself put. "W-Woah there!"

"You big dum-dum!" Lithyum insulted, burying her face in his chest, she balled a fist and pounded his shoulder softly. "You… Biggest, meanest, cruelest, dum-dum of dum-dum city! Don't you know how dangerous that was! You could've died! Burnt to ashes! You would've been… Like… Tobi-ash K-arsonist!"

The pun didn't affect Toby's mood. Taking the girl in his arms, he sat down on the nearest seat and took her on his lap. She was surprisingly light, which was sort of to be expected of a girl a head smaller than him. "I'm okay, Lithyum. And so are Rom and Ram. It all turned out to be fi-"

Lithyum smacked right across his cheek, interrupting his excuse. "I'm serious! Don't you ever do that again or I'll slap you silly!"

Rubbing his reddened cheek, Toby kept his poker face on at all times. "Right… Right… Why don't you take a seat of your own so we can watch the fight?"

Backing up from his chest, Lithyum stared Toby in the eyes with frown. She then let a sigh loose as she climbed off the teen's lap and sat down on the seat beside him, folding her arms and crossing her legs.

"C'mon, no need to feel so pouty." Toby put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "Let's watch Blanc doom us all… Or perhaps win by some god-forbidden miracle."

Gazing back at the arena, Toby watched the epic battle take its course.

The battle between Magic and the CPUs of Lowee was hard fought. For the longest time, Lowee's CPUs had the upper hand, but Magic looked like she was barely taking any damage at all. If it wasn't for Blanc's finishing blow, the battle would surely have gone on for much longer. And who knows who would've won then.

Watching Blanc and the twins holding hands as they walked off into the sunset felt rather fulfilling. Toby couldn't help but feel partially responsible for this victory, as well as the heartfelt reunion. Sure, he couldn't make out anything they were saying, but he didn't need to. He could tell they were more than happy to be back together again.

After Blanc left through the double doors, Toby and Lithyum sat there for another minute, watching the very door she left in silence. This was mostly because of the self-proclaimed Orange Outplay not wanting to move yet and the girl following his example, unsure of how to react.

Suddenly getting up from his seat, Toby dusted his behind off and took a left turn. "We're done here…"

"Ah! Wait up, Toby!"

Lithyum jumped to her feet, running as quickly she could to catch up with him. When she did, she slowed down to a moderate pace, walking right beside him.

Upon reaching the double doors, they both pushed one open. Before stepping through, Toby looked back over his shoulder at the now desolate arena. Something wasn't right. He didn't come back to see all of this. He already confirmed as much.

As he expected, seeing Magic die or Blanc rejoice the return of her sisters had little to no effect on the nagging feeling in his stomach. And Lithyum certainly wasn't one to change that feeling either.

The girl was quick to notice the concerns in his expression. "Hm? What's the matter, Toby? You looked pretty spooked…"

Rather than respond, Toby took his time to scan the arena. There was something here he felt obligated to do. But what was it? There's nothing left here. The only ones that were left here were Nepgear, Compa, Falcom, Noire, Vert and…

And…

…

…

"IF…"

"Eh?"

The name alone triggered something inside Toby. Something he didn't like. Letting go of the door, he picked up his pace again, leaving the arena as quickly as he could.

"T-Toby! Wait up, wait up!" Lithyum cried. "Can you at least slow down! I've only got teeny tiny legs!"

"We're heading to Planeptune, Lithyum," Toby declared, keeping his pace. "We're not sticking around here any longer.

"W-What?" Lithyum began to catch up with the teen, barely catching herself as she nearly tripped. "But, uh, don't you want to go stay the night at a hotel or something? We could make it a love hotel and-"

"No," Toby responded cold-heartedly to the teasing girl. "We're leaving. Now."

"Oww… Wait up already!"

Taking large and frequent steps, Toby was quick to find Tari's front gate. Passing by that same soldier holding that wooden spear, he received a single nod from the man, probably waiting for his shift to be done. For the most part, Toby spent no attention to him, while Lithyum gave him a brief smile, mouthing 'sorry about him' to the man.

Only after they had walked about ten minutes out of the gate did Lithyum finally stop from exhaustion. While she wasn't one to get tired quickly, she did have to carry IF through the fight with the Royal Boxbird earlier, taking in consideration that the agent was already at her limit. The fact she had to take two steps for every step Toby had to take didn't help either.

"Just… Just… Toby, Stop!" She screamed.

Toby, turning to her in surprise, wondered for a second what was wrong. Lithyum showed clear signs of needing a breather. With her hands on her knees and her back moving up and down, she breathed heavily before she spoke up again. "Huff… Huff… Do you-... Huff… Do you really need to get back to Planeptune that fast?" She asked with misty eyes.

Feeling a little bad for the petite girl, Toby approached her again. "Yes we do. We're not spending another minute in Tari."

"Bu-... But why?" Lithyum stuttered, pressing her hand against Toby's stomach to lean on him. "I know you want to go home ASAP, but... can't you at least have some sleep? You nearly died back there. At least three times."

Resisting the urge to yell 'sleep is for the weak', the teen cleared his throat and put his hand the girl's shoulder. "There's… Something I'd rather avoid right now. In fact, I'm sorta kinda planning on leaving Gamindustri for good once I get to Planeptune… Did you make up your mind yet about coming with me?"

The tired girl needed time to process whatever Toby just told her. When she did, her eyes slowly trailed up his chest to meet his eyes. "W-What!? You're leaving already? But what about Blanc? Or IF? Or-"

"IF is exactly the reason I'm leaving, Lithyum!" Toby exclaimed.

Silence befell the two. One could feel the ocean breeze gently dancing through the verdant trees, swaying Lithyum's puffy twintails as well. The girl let her hand slide down his stomach, until she withdrew it, backing off a few steps from him. Bewildered and without knowing how to respond, her eyes remained focused on staring deep into the teen's.

"... What?" Was Lithyum's only question.

Gazing right back the girl, she looked utterly defeated. She knew that he would leave after the fight was over, but for it to be so soon was something she didn't expect.

Turning his back on her, Toby looked up at the still-starry night sky. "Look. It's… Complicated. Sorry for lashing out like that. But I don't want to stay here for another moment. You-... You understand, right?"

Lithyum gave no response. With the sound of footsteps moving towards him audible, she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind.

"L-Lithyum?"

"I don't want you to go…" The girl whimpered softly, clearly struggling to fight back the urge to cry. "I don't want it. I don't like it. A lot. Is there nothing I can say to convince you?"

Looking down, Toby felt rather bad for her. She was there for him when he needed her the most, yet here he was, abandoning when she wanted him to be with him the most. Was this really the right choice?

Placing his hand on Lithyum's, he held it before gently prying himself free from her hold. "I'm sorry…"

Taking a few steps back, silence carried through the wind, waiting for either one to speak up again.

If this was truly the right choice, it certainly was the most painful one to make.

"I understand…" Lithyum finally stated in a hollow tone.

For the longest time, Toby wanted to say something. Anything to put the girl at ease. Yet, nothing came to mind. It felt horrible to just dropping her like that without any hesitation or doubt in his voice. Yet, even if he sounded stone cold, he knew that if he let his true nature show, it would only make things harder. It was for his own good, as well as hers.

"I'm-... Good. I'm glad you understand."

After taking but three steps, the small girl called his name again. "Toby…"

Slowly turning back around, he watched her fidget on the spot. As her eyes carried her tears, her gaze pierced right through him. "C-... Can I have your blade? Please?"

For a moment, Toby doubted whether or not he should comply. But in the end, he agreed. Summoning his blade from his hammerspace, he tossed it up and caught it with the sharp end facing the ground. As he held out the handle, it took Lithyum a moment to accept the weapon. Much like the first time they shook hands, she grabbed onto the handle with both hands, carefully grasping it before looking at it in intrigue.

"Thank you…" She finally pleaded. Her legs trembled briefly before she turned her heels and ran at a full sprint. Tripping once, causing Toby to take a single step with his hand extended out to her, she quickly got up and continued running while covering her face with her sleeve.

As Toby slowly lowered his hand, he realised how much he really messed up. She didn't deserve this. Of all the people in Gamindustri, she was the most pure-hearted girl he had come across. Taking him in when he needed her the most, as well as caring for him when no one else would. Only for him to shrug her off so easily in the end.

Clenching his fists, Toby wanted to run after her. To tell her he would never leave her. Even if it was a lie, just to comfort her. Even if he had only known her for less than a week, he relished every memory he had made with her. From the times they went questing, to all the mischief in the arcade. A truer friend he could not have asked for.

But the wish of returning home was much stronger. Or rather, the nagging of leaving Gamindustri was one he could not stand anymore. He had to leave. And if Lithyum refused to come with him, then he would've had to make a choice.

Taking a deep breath, Toby lifted his right foot before the left, each step feeling like his legs were made out of lead.

Step by step, the heavy feeling only got lighter. The realisation of there being no turning back now was slowly dawning on him. He had made his choice. And it was time to act upon it. It was time to put this adventure to rest. It was time to wish Gamindustri its farewells.

* * *

Moving down the road, the few sprouting lilies along the side in the grassy field did not go unnoticed. Each time he passed by the wild flowers, they gave him a brief reminder of what he had chosen. A brief reminder of what he had done to Lithyum. He could still see that very same lily blooming from her hair, sticking to it like a hairpin.

It had been nearly an hour since he left Tari's front gate. While the distance between both cities was relatively short, someone walking there on their own would still take quite some time to do so.

The path he had chosen to take was a rather scenic one, just cutting the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean to one side, while the other side was nothing but grasslands, with the occasional flower sticking out in-between all the green.

Walking with his hands in the pockets of his body warmer, Toby kicked a single pebble off the cliffside. He figured the horrible feeling of leaving his friend the way he did would lessen with the road. Yet, each step only amplified it, making the taste of regret circle his mouth over and over again.

Feeling a ray of warmth shine against his cold skin, the teen looked up in surprise. Turning to face the ocean, he watched the first orange rays of sunshine slowly rise from over the pink horizon; the light creating a breath-taking, glistering reflection upon the waves of Gamindustri's waters.

The sound of the calming ocean ran through the air, carried by the soft breezes blowing through the teen's hair.

It was a true sight to behold. A morning this mesmerising was something you'd only see in fiction. It all felt so ethereal to him.

Letting the picture sink in on his retinal, Toby was left in awe. "A coward to the end, huh? One that won't be missed… And certainly not by IF..."

Another minute passed before Toby finally could bring himself to look away. For the longest time, the only sounds passing through the air were his own footsteps as well as the soft ocean breeze.

The quiet of nature was broken when something else started become audible. It was quiet, ever raising in volume with time. It took the teen a while to realise it. It took him even longer to realise it sounded an awful lot like an engine of some sort.

Something was approaching him. And quickly so.

Looking over his shoulder in the general direction he just came from, there was a large cloud of dust trailing behind a blue spec on the dirt road in the distance.

"You…"

It didn't take a genius to conclude who was approaching him at such a high speed. After all, there was only one person in all of Gamindustri with a blue motorcycle that Toby knew of.

The thought of leaping off the road into the grassy field briefly crossed the teen's mind. He exactly left Tari to avoid this scenario. He already knew what was about happen. And he didn't feel like getting yelled at again. Even if he didn't show it, it certainly made him worse with each and every insult.

But once again, there was this nagging feeling at the bottom of his stomach, telling him to wait. To stand frozen upon the path and be seen. Even if he wanted to move, his body refused to listen to him.

Taking a deep breath, Toby turned to face towards the dust cloud.

As the blurry image got closer, the outline of IF became much clearer—Her brown hair blowing in the wind as her speed increased.

When she finally was just about a dozen meters away from him, she pulled the breaks, drifting the back wheel of her bike forward, shooting another cloud of dust up.

She dismounted her bike, running a hand through her hair to shape it back in model. Her expression was stern, with a hinge of exhaustion. Her clothes seemed to have repaired themselves in the last hour. Toby hadn't noticed before, but so had his. Turns out that, much like in one of the games, leaving a dungeon magically fixes your clothes.

"There you are." IF began, approaching the teen.

Uncertainty was taken over by anxiety. Just about anything could've happened. Though, after what she told him, he felt like it would be nothing good. After all, she said it herself. ' _This changes nothing between us_ '. Was she here to spite him? To ridicule him one final time before he would leave her and all of Gamindustri forever?

In a form of self-defense, Toby put on a frown of his own. "Shouldn't you be with Nepgear and the others? Celebrating your victory over ASIC?"

Stopping a stone's throw away from him, the brunette put one hand on her hip. "There was a distinct lack of orange in the mix. It was a wild guess, but I figured you might've already left for Planeptune."

"I left to head home, yes. To leave Gamindustri. After all, I did exactly what you asked for. And I'm leaving, just like you told me to. In fact, isn't that all the more reason for you to be partying?"

The agent responded not. Averting her eyes to the grassy fields, her frown furrowed.

"Well?" Toby asked, folding his arms. "What are you here for? I somehow doubt you, the one person in all of Gamindustri that hates me the most, has come to wave me goodbye, now have you?"

Toby expected IF to fully snap back at him with an insult or witty retort of her own. Yet, she didn't. "No. You're right. I didn't come here for that."

"... Oh. Really now?"

IF nodded. "I just want to talk. There's… Something serious I've been meaning to tell you."

"Last time you said that, you kicked me out of the party," Toby brought up.

"It's… About that."

The agent's tone was serious and very composed. Unlike any other time where she had practically been yelling at him, this time it felt like she was ready to level with him. But Toby was still conflicted about all of this.

She clearly struggled to find the right words. Her mouth opened at least twice without saying anything. "Lithyum told me what happened in the first round."

Toby shuddered as he recalled the moment. "I'd rather not talk about it," he responded.

"You don't have to. I just wanted to acknowledge it." The agent turned her head towards the glistering ocean. "You really bit off more than you could chew, huh? And yet, you did your part in every single round. Beating Lady Rosé: a long-retired assassin of Leanbox, tricking the Emal Elites, and then jumping in a pit of hellfire just to rescue the sisters of someone you despise."

"I… Have a few regrets, to be honest."

"So do I. And that's exactly why I'm going to fix them. Right here. Right now."

The Wind Walker of Gamindustri raised her chin and tensed her shoulders.

"If you're a coward, then every single one of us are the biggest chickens in Gamindustri. I take back everything I said about you."

"You… What?" The words took the duelist by surprise.

"I can't say this means I've just forgotten about everything you said. And I still don't really agree with you on your argument of us treating you like garbage. But… It's not like we treated you like an equal either."

The brunette held her hand out towards him. "Let's forget about last night. We both did some terrible stuff. And if you've earned anything after tonight, it's my respect. So… Bury the hatchet?"

Toby looked down at the girl's hand before trailing his eyes back up to her face. Her expression was light. Something he had never expected to see from IF again. Would it really be right to for him to accept this apology?

As the calming sounds of nature played all around them, he wondered if he had any real reason to reject her. " _Is it really right for me to shake her hand here?_ " He thought. " _She's done quite a few terrible things. And she and Blanc have done nothing but yell at me for the last twenty-four hours. But it's not like I'm exactly innocent either. If anything… Maybe I wanted her to take the first step?_ "

The nagging feeling in Toby's stomach intensified at the thought.

" _... The first step… The first step… Wait a second. I get it now!_ "

Looking back down at her hand, the choice was clear to him. Raising his right hand, he collided it with IF's making a satisfying _clap_ before they shook hands. "You're not so bad yourself either."

Toby smiled back at the girl as they firmly shaked each other's hand. This went on for what felt like an actual eternity. Something still didn't feel right. Toby was sure of it. Both of them kept shaking each other's hand because this entire situation felt rather unfulfilling. Was this really the best way of making up?

Looking into IF's eyes, he knew that she felt the same way. But there was also a hint of hesitation. She wanted to act. But there was a fine line holding her back. Or so Toby believed.

If anyone was going to take the next step, it had to be him. But what was it he had to do?

Looking down, Toby did get a vague idea of what it might be. Whether it really was the right call was the real question.

"... _Oh, to hell with it!_ "

Without a second of doubt, he let go of her hand and stepped forward to wrap his arms around her waist.

"Wah!" The agent struggled for a moment, but stopped as she realised what was happening. Frozen by surprise, she gently returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her head against his chest.

Blood rushed to Toby's head. It wasn't often he felt embarrassed about doing something. Or so he liked to believe. This was something completely different, however.

Minutes passed without either of them saying anything. And Toby finally realised what the nagging feeling had been all along. It was the urge to make up with his old friend.

But even still, there was just one final thing he had to get out of his system. "I-... I'm sorry. For being such a nuisance. I don't-... I don't hate any of you. It's just th-that I-I-... That-... I-...I-..."

"Heh… Alright, big guy. Calm it down. Take a deep breath and tell me what's been on your mind. This time without insulting everyone, if you can."

Doing as he was told, Toby calmed himself. "R-Right… Look. Did I ever tell you? About why exactly I wanted to go home?"

"Not any sensible reason, at least."

"Right… Well. To be entirely honest with you, I'm… Not so sure either."

IF pulled her head back from their hug. "What?"

"I… I just know I don't want to be here anymore. I mean, Lithyum said one thing, Blanc said another, but… When I think about it, I don't think either of them are right. Or rather, not entirely. I admit, I did feel rather bummed by the fact all of you were acting rather ungrateful towards me, even if this wasn't really any of my problem to begin with. And there hasn't been a single day where I haven't nearly died or something else equally bad has happened… But… Well…"

Toby swallowed. "Not only that… I just miss home. I miss my old, mundane life. My parents, My job. My old friends… I miss lazing around on my bed reading mang-... Literature… On a quiet Saturday night… I-... I think I've grown pretty homesick, to be honest."

IF let out a soft, unsatisfied grunt. Looking down, she knew where the teen was going with this. "I didn't come here to convince you otherwise, but… Are you sure you want to go home?"

Toby let go of the brunette and took a few steps back.

"I mean, I can guarantee you that things are only going to get better from here on out." IF said. "And I'm sure Blanc would love to repay you in some shape or form after everything you did for her."

Toby's eyes wandered to the ocean once more. "Why would you stop me?"

Biting her lip, the girl wondered whether or not she should even share it with him.

"... Remember all those messages you left unanswered?"

Toby nodded.

"I sent you those because I was concerned about you. I missed you."

Taking a deep breath, he let out a grunt of annoyance as he exhaled. "I wish I had known sooner. I probably should've known. Ugh." If he were to go home, it would have to be today. His heart couldn't bear telling Lithyum, or anyone for that matter, that he would have to leave again. Seeing his friend run away the way she did truly leave him heartbroken.

Closing his eyes, Toby murmured "I hate choices."

IF let out a faint laugh. "You and me, man. You and me."

"But… I think I've made up my mind."

"You have?"

"Yeah…" Toby replied, shaking his head from left to right. "And I'm sorry…"

"I see." IF's shoulders dropped. Looking down at the ground in disappointment, she took the first step back towards her bike.

"I'm sorry. But it looks like you're gonna have to find another way to repay me for winning Anarchy Arena for you."

"Wait… You mean-"

Raising his thumb, Toby gave the agent a confident smile. "Because I guess I'll be sticking around for a little longer!"

The brunette's expression turned from sad to surprised. She then briefly let out a laugh escape her lips. "Pff-eheh…Ahaha! Oooh, sorry. It's just-... Just that you totally had me there. For a moment I thought you were planning on bailing on us after all of this.

"Not gonna lie. I still don't know if this is the right choice. But we'll see soon enough."

Scratching her cheek with her index finger, IF looked back at her bike. "You're such a jerk, you know that? Well… I don't want to break the moment, but… I kinda want to go now. We've been standing here for far too long."

"I Agree. I need myself a good cup of coffee. Not that cheap decaf stuff. Some rich, brown, freshly made, hot coffee."

"I like that idea. Make it two." IF walked back to her bike. "Hop on. Let's get going," she said as she mounted the vehicle.

Doing what he was told, Toby hopped on the back and grabbed on to IF's shoulders. "So… Where are we going? Tari?"

The cyclist shook her head. "We're going home. My home. I need to take a shower. And after that, I think I'll call it a day and go to bed."

"Hm. I think I'll follow your example. Mind if I snag a shower over at your place?"

"Heh. Sure. You can't snag the bed, though. You're getting the couch."

"What, really? What happened to being grateful?" Toby joked. "If anything, you should be the one taking the couch. Hospitality and what not."

IF shrugged. "Hey, my house, my bed. I'm not giving it up just because you asked for it."

"Well, if we both want it, then maybe-"

"Maybe we should sleep in it together… Wait, that's not what I-…"

"Huh?"

With narrow eyes, Toby shook his head. IF looked over her shoulder, looking just as stupefied.

They then both burst out into laughter.

"Not in a million years," Toby remarked.

"Not in a billion years," IF added.

Revving up her engine, it gave a loud roar before it drove down the road towards Planeptune. And at the end of the day, Toby was the one to take the couch. But wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **Alright. I promise that was the last of the tacky scenes in quite some time… I think…**

…

 **H-Hey everyone! End of chapter. Woo. There's actually one thing I wanted to mention before ending this chapter. For those of you who saw this coming… Well… Consider yourself wrong. Because for the longest time, this was truly supposed to be Toby's final chapter. Yep. I was actually going to write him off (and I wouldn't dare to tell you when I decided to change the script. Perhaps around ch12. Perhaps just as I wrote Toby's final 'I'm sorry' line).**

 **You might argue that it would be horrible writing to 'kill off' a character you've grown to love… But haven't you ever wondered why Toby was always so such a bland character? You're not supposed to really feel for the guy. He was designed to be killed off at some point. After all, he's not the main character of the story. Anyway, there's another story behind Toby's bland design. But I'll keep that one for another time.**

 **Weirdly enough, Toby started to grow on me. Exactly because he was so normal, he actually kinda stood out of the people around him in his own way. So normal, it's unique. Weird, right? So in the end, I decided to keep him in… For now.**

 **Hope to see you all next chapter!**


	18. Chapter 18 - The Day After Tomorrow

**Wow... Uh... Just... Wow. Didn't expect this much feedback regarding Toby's true purpose. I'm pretty surprised, honestly. So much, I m not even sure what to say here.**

 **I probably should say _something_ at least. So, for this one time, I'll give the three reviewers, along with everyone else that shared this opinion, a collective review response.**

Shadicgon, Anibi & To Broach Or To Put up: Each of you put Toby in a _very_ high regard. In Shadi's case, he claimed Toby finally became that hero he was supposed to be at the start of the story. Ani pointed out that, despite his rather questionable actions, he was still open for development and that he was a decently likeable character in the first few chapters. And finally, TBOTPu said he would drop the story entirely if Toby were to be written out of it, saying he really likes the plain and relatable character: Apparently a rarity among the OCs in the Neptunia archive.

I'm not going to lie to you, I honestly thought people started to hate Toby for shading the main cast so much. Even if it was justified. As is probably evident by now, I enjoy taking the reader by surprise. I like to do things a little different every now and then (Example: Ch7). In fact, Toby was never the main character.

Honestly, while I was still aiming for people to feel... I don't know, less attached to his character, I still wanted him to be somewhat bearable. Someone that was having a really tough time to cope with the situation. Though, I suppose that in the end, even I grew attached to him. Which is why I decided to keep him in at the last minute (on several occasions... Every near-death Toby had was me considering finally dropping him).

I can go on and on about Toby. But in short, he was meant to be unlikable to a certain extent.

So with this, I would like to officially assure everyone that Toby is going to be around for a lot longer. And if I see potential in it, I'll be sure to let him reach the end of the story, too. But that's still up in the air.

Congrats you three. You officially changed the story. And I'm sure Toby will feel a little less stressed on a subconscious level, knowing there are people out there that still like him, despite all the insults he tossed out. He is certain to improve his mood and attitude.

 **And with that, I rest my case. Enough of my babbling. I'm sure you're all excited for the next chapter... Or at least, I hope you are. This is gonna be a fun one.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: The Day After Tomorrow**

"Mmm… hrrmm… Nghh…"

As the sunlight invaded IF's bedroom, the agent awoke from her slumber. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly sat straight. Looking down, she realised she was wearing her pyjamas.

Usually she's far too tired to bother putting them on, so she'd just sleep nude… Unless she had someone sleep over.

From behind to the door, a boyish voice echoed through her apartment. It took her awhile to remember, but she vaguely recalled letting Toby stay over for the night.

"Right… We made up," She thought out loud, getting herself out of the bed. Looking back at her mirror image, she was faced with a loosely clothed brunette with a bed head. Just another Monday morning… On a Saturday… In the afternoon… Yep. Just like another Monday morning.

Unable to find a brush, the agent quickly ran her hand through her hair—with minimal success of improving her hairstyle—and redid the buttons on her shirt so it would look like she at least tried.

Stepping out of her bedroom into the living room, her eye first caught on to Toby sitting on her blue couch. Wearing nothing but his red shirt and his underwear, the teen was conversing with someone on his watch. "Yeah, no, I'm not doing anything today. we can do something later if you want… W-Wha-... Did you seriously just say ' _we can do_ **me** _later_ '?"

IF's eyes then deviated to the table before the couch. Other than a pair of sandwiches and a single cup of coffee, there stood a single lily on the table, resting in a wine glass filled with water. Toby seemed to look at it as he talked with the person on his watch, almost as if he was talking to the flower itself.

Placing herself next to the teen, he failed to notice her presence. "Okay, look. We'll talk about those weird innuendo's of you later… To a certain degree, yes… Fine. Anyway, I've got to run. I should put on some pants before IF wakes up. I'll see you later… Love you too, Lithyum."

Sighing, Toby lowered his wrist and leaned back on the couch. "Whew. That went surprisingly well."

"Really now?" IF asked, causing Toby to jump.

"G-Gah! What are you doing here!?"

"Toby. I live here…" IF deadpanned.

"Oh… Right. Err…" Quickly changing the subject, the teen pointed at the meal on the table.

"H-Hey! I, uh… I made you some breakfast. I kept the coffee warm by putting a saucer on top of the mug. Life hacks with Tobias!"

The teen proudly took the saucer off the top and handed the mug, as well as the plate to his old friend.

"Hum. Well, thanks, I guess?"

Taking a bite from her breakfast, IF chewed slowly. A cucumber sandwich. Not exactly her favourite, but not the worst either. It was passable.

An awkward silence lingered in the air. Neither Toby nor IF said anything. While one was busy chowing down her breakfast, the other was simply twiddling his thumbs.

"So… Did you sleep well?" Toby asked, scratching his cheek.

"Eh. Sorta kinda."

"Right… Ahem… Hey. There's something serious I wanted to talk about"

After taking a sip from her lukewarm coffee, she turned to the teen. "Hm? What's that?"

"So…" A little hesitant, Toby looked around the room. "Well… I'm not very good at telling stories. So I guess I'll just start with the beginning."

"The beginning?"

Moving his hands before him as if he was explaining something, Toby continued. "Back at Anarchy Arena, right after I jumped into that pit. Well, I pressed that Eject Button right on time, but I think I kinda… Uh… D-... Died."

It took the brunette a moment to realise, but right as her mind processed it, she raised an eyebrow. "Say what?"

"Crazy, I know." Still moving his hands before him, he this time signalled to her to hear him out. "But I can explain why I think so."

Saying nothing, IF gestured for him to continue. Surely, there had to be some logical explanation for him to come up with such a ludicrous theory.

"Right. I died. Probably from losing so much blood over the course of an hour. And I think so because… Well… I don't know how to describe it, but I felt really weird. Warm. Comfortable. Peaceful, even. And right before Rom and Ram healed me up, I heard this voice. A female voice, speaking to me like an angel in the sky."

"So an angelic voice?" IF asked, receiving a nod from Toby.

"Sorta like that… But… She said some weird things. Something about being part of a story and… She also mentioned Uni."

If the agent's eyes weren't already wide open, they certainly were now. "Uni? You must've been hearing things from losing so much blood. Because-"

"IF..." Toby interrupted. "I'm certain I heard a voice. And, honestly, I think I already know who's it was."

Breaking eye contact, the teen took a breath.

"Female voice speaking from me from beyond the grave. I can only think of two women that fit those criteria."

Toby's implications weren't immediately clear to her. Placing her thumb and index finger on her chin, the agent thought about his words. Until it finally dawned on her. "Wait… You're saying it wasn't Uni… Then that means…"

"Indeed," The teen confirmed, "I think it was… Her. Lilith."

The room went quiet for a minute. The theory seemed so ridiculous. So fabricated. There was no way this could've been true. Was Toby mistaken? Perhaps lying? Why would he make this up?

"What did she tell you?"

Groaning, Toby tried recalling every detail of her speech. "Nothing that made sense, at least. Something about being part of this story and meeting me sooner than I might think. But that's about it."

Again, IF went quiet. For now, she had to assume he wasn't imagining things. There may not have been any solid proof, but she didn't want to tell him wrong either.

Speaking up once more, Toby readjusted himself. "Probably shouldn't be asking this. But… You did promise you would tell me. What happened to Lilith Belrose back then?"

Sighing, IF got up and moved to a nearby drawer. Opening said drawer, she rummaged through the many messy papers. "Look… I get that you're curious and all, but are you sure you want to know about this? We're talking about someone you've only known by name."

"Well… I'm not going to lie. It probably doesn't concern me. But on the other hand, I think I deserve to know what happened back then. Because I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that doesn't."

The girl's hands froze within the drawer, saying nothing as she stood still.

"Uhh… IF?"

"No… Geoffrey, Neptune, me, Compa and Histoire. We're the only ones that know what happened that day. The other CPUs know that the public story was fabricated, but that's about it. Not even Nepgear knows the truth. They weren't close enough to either Lilith or Geoffrey to deserve to know… Or so Geoffrey claimed."

Toby took a breath to ask a question, but IF quickly interjected him. "Because this story is plain messed up. And if it were to get out to the public, Planeptune would suffer a massive loss in shares."

The teen withdrew his question. But it did raise another. "Then… Why do I deserve to know?"

"You need to know what we're up against. Especially you. You weren't wrong about us dragging you into our problems. That and I owe you an apology. Personally. So consider this my way of saying sorry."

Finally having found what she was looking for, IF turned back to Toby, closing the drawer behind her. Holding up a small blue journal with a hardcover, she shook it once. "Lilith's journal. The only copy to exist."

Approaching the teen, she held out the old journal. Looking at it with intrigue, Toby carefully took it in both hands. Turning to the first page, he read the pink written sentence out loud. " _This journal belongs to Lilith Belrose: World's coolest adventurer_."

Sitting back down, IF rested her hands on her lap. "People believe Lilith sacrificed herself for the greater good, all the way back at the Gamindustri Graveyard. I'm going to ask you one last time."

As the teen looked up from the journal, his eyes met with IF's.

"This stuff is seriously dark. Are you sure you want to know the truth?"

Looking back at the journal, he hesitant nodded. "I've been wondering about Lilith ever since Histoire gave me her blade. And now that you've told me this stuff goes way deeper than I first though, I think I'm ready to hear about it."

"Then you probably should turn to page seventy-nine… If you'll excuse me… I'm going to get dressed. I-... I don't want to hear that stuff again."

"I understand," Toby said right as IF got up from the couch, returning to her bedroom. After she closed the door behind her, the teen looked back down at the journal. "Honestly, I've been wondering what happened to Lilith ever since I had heard of Mister Lance about a year ago back on Earth. Let's see what really went down back then…"

* * *

 **Descension and Ascension [Part 1]**

This story takes place four years ago: right after the defeat of the Deity of Sin. With ASIC truly out of the picture, every CPU and Maker returned to their respective nations to relax, and to take the minds off of the war.

The same went for Geoffrey and Lilith. While Geoffrey himself went back to research everything about Gamindustri, Lilith was a little less sure on what to do next.

Lilith was a true blooded adventurer. A woman with a craving for danger. Stories of her traversing the most perilous dungeons, climbing the highest mountains and sailing over the wildest waters were rather common among Guild members of all ranks. She was someone that truly lived for adventure and nothing else.

But you can only get so much out of just Gamindustri. After travelling with the CPUs to stop certain doom from befalling the land, she had gotten the chance she needed to see pretty much everything she hadn't yet. In other words, she was done. There was nothing left for her to explore… Nothing that piqued her interest, at least. After all, there was no point spelunking someone's basement, no matter how dangerous the countless rats made it.

One day, Neptune, the CPU of Planeptune, passed a rumour to her younger sister. One the female adventurer just so happened to overhear. Something that would change her life forever.

"Hey, did you hear? Some weird explorer dude found a dungeon deep underground. Legend goes that in the deepest part of the tombs, there's an item that can grant you any wish! C'mon, Nepgear! Let's go do us some dungeon crawling and wish for a gajillion cups of pudding!"

The wish Neptune wanted to make was of little interest to the adventurer. It was the idea of being able to make a wish what really kept itself stuck to her mind.

The mere thought of getting a single wish was enough to entice her. Perhaps she could wish for a gate to Celestia to explore the holy lands of the CPUs. Or perhaps she could erase her memories of her previous adventures and do them all over again. Or even better, she could've wished for a map of all unexplored dungeons in Gamindustri. So many choices. So little time.

In the end, she settled on something _much_ bigger. Something only a wish making fairy could make true. Geoffrey Lucian Lance, her husband, was not from Gamindustri. It was a claim no one truly believed at the time. No one but her.

She wasn't entirely sure how he managed to cross dimensions—as he himself was rather vague about it—but what if she could wish for a portal between one dimension and the other? What was his world like? Would there be new places for her to explore? What kind of monster would dare to challenge her?

Wasting no time, she approached the CPU of Planeptune once more, pressing for as much information on the dungeon as she could.

Little was known about the dungeon known as the Retro Ruins of Planeptune. Beside the fact that whoever reached the end would get the wish they truly desired, the entire structure was buried deep below ground. Not only that, but legend says that it was designed to keep thieves out. Therefore, it was filled with traps and monsters alike. Not to mention massive in design.

If death itself had ever built a castle, this would've been it. This dungeon was meant to wipe out any party that would dare to even go inside. Of course, every warning Neptune gave only made the idea more and more tempting.

After stocking up on the needed supplies and dragging a slightly protesting Geoffrey out of his lab, she set off for the dungeon in the early morning. Adventure awaited.

The sun shined brightly down upon the two. A soft summer breeze blew through the forest as they made their way to the dungeon. Birds were singing. Flowers were blooming. On days like these, people like them… Should be having fun.

"-And that's why I want to show my beautiful hair off to everyone in Gamindustri and will never wear a hat. Ever." Geoffrey explained, walking closely behind his wife. "But anyway, are we there yet? We've been walking for like… Three hours. I think. I lost track of time after the first ten minutes."

Lilith kept on walking, her moral at an all time high. "Only a few more minutes before the adventure of a lifetime can begin, Lucy!"

As Geoffrey's middle name was Lucian, and incapable of finding a cute short name for his first name, Lilith often resorted to calling him 'Lucy'. It was much cuter than Geoffrey, after all. And it suited him quite well.

"You know, I forgot. Why do you keep calling me that again? That's a girl's name. I'm not a girl!"

"Ha! Could've had me fooled!" Lilith teased picking up her pace.

"Gah! Why do you want to go to my dimension anyway? Seriously. There is nothing to do there. It's filthy, global warming is a thing and you have to pay taxes."

Lilith stopped, causing the man to bump into her back. "Lucy, please! Do know who you're talking to? I'd be the first person in Gamindustri to witness global warming! Even if I don't know what it is yet! I'm sure it's something to be proud of. It's probably like some big, grumpy monster or something. I wanna fight it!"

A large anime sweatdrop formed on the back of Geoffrey's head. "Hey, global warming is a battle fought by many, but lost by even more..."

"Oh, quit your yapping. Look! We're here."

Pointing forward, Lilith gestured towards a dark cave of dirt going into the depths of a mountain.

Approaching the entrance, the couple stood still, looking into the black abyss. As it turned out, rather than going into the mountain, the cave went straight down. Letting out a long whistle, Geoffrey spoke. "Well, at least you weren't wrong. Though, it's more like… Like a hole than a cave, really. Say, just how deep does this thing go?"

Lilith smiled confidently. Picking up a nearby rock, she tossed it up a few times. "I dunno. Let's find out. Here goes!"

Lobbing the stone down the hole, they quietly waited for the impact's sound to rebound. After about four seconds, a loud thud echoed from out of the cave.

"Hm. Sounds like a fifteen meter drop. Good thing I, an awesome explorer, came prepared." The adventurer pulled some rope from her hammerspace and forced it into her husband's hands. "Here, go tie it to that dead tree over there."

The man took the rope clumsily, almost dropping in the hole before them before holding it firmly. "G-Gah! Right, right. I'm on it."

As the scientist fumbled around with the rope, Lilith looked back at the cave. She hadn't felt this excited in years. She would be the first in Gamindustri to uncover a whole new dimension. Something she would boast on about for years on end, that was for sure.

A stupid grin formed on Lilith's face. "I wonder if they have Dogoo's on Earth… And if they don't, what else do they kill for fun? Do they even kill things for fun? What's the most common, level one monster? So many questions..."

"Alright. Rope's tied up," Geoffrey declared, tossing the loose end into the cave. "Ladies first?"

"Ladies first!" Lilith repeated, lowering herself over the edge after wrapping the rope around her waist. "Hey, shed some light over here. I can't see where I'm going."

"... You are being very bossy today," Geoffrey said, taking a flashlight from his hammerspace and shining its light down into the darkness.

With relative ease, the adventurer slid down the rope and reached the bottom. Taking out her own flashlight, she examined her surroundings. It was just like Neptune had described it to be. A damp, smelly cave overgrown by vegetation. At the far end was a single collapsed stone wall going into the designated dungeon. So far so good. "Alright… Looks legit down here. Come on down, Lucy!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Lilith looked ahead towards the dungeon again. She just couldn't wait to get on exploring. To brave the most dangerous dungeon in all of-

* **CRACK** *

A loud crack caught the woman's attention. The rope rapidly falling piled up on the dirt before cushioning Geoffrey's fall. Letting out a single 'oomph', the man groaned in pain. "Ooh… Pain… I think I'm fine, though… Nghh."

Lilith was quick to move to his side. Kneeling down, she first made sure to check the man's injuries. Fortunately, none of them were too serious. Just a few bruises and single scratch on his knee. He had lucked out. If he had broken any bones, they'd have to retreat for the day.

She then checked the rope. Clearly, it didn't snap under the man 's weight. Someone as skinny as him wouldn't weigh much more than herself. To the contrary, she found a rotting piece of wood tied to the end of it. "Looks like that tree was a little too old, huh?. Rookie mistake on my part."

After she helped her husband get up, he dusted himself off.

"Can you walk?" Lilith asked concerned.

"Yeah… It's nothing, really. Just a scratch." Geoffery breathed out, raising back up to his feet.

"Don't push yourself too hard, alright? Well, anyway, let's get moving."

The couple proceeded to the hole in the wall, stepping over the broken rubble and inside the dungeon. As one would expect, darkness was everywhere. The air reeked of a mixture between the smell of that of a corpse and the terrible scented candles they used at Leanbox's church. A few unsettling sounds and cries recited from deep into the unknown.

Lilith, being the first to enter, instinctively pinched her nose. "Ugh. What's that smell? Did you just toot, Lucy?" She joked, shining her light around. They were in a long, cold, ancient hallway. The walls were engraved with symbols the adventurer did not recognise. "Say… Do you know those?"

Geoffrey, almost tripping as he entered the ruins, looked up at the wall. "I-... Those look an awful lot like… Hm… I think that's the ancient language of the Histoire… Or something. Stupid name, I know. I didn't come up with it… Anyway, I actually asked Histoire to teach me a little about it."

"Wait, really? Well… What does it say?"

"Err.. Let's see…" Placing his finger on the wall, he dragged it across the many symbols. "Hm… It just repeats the same thing over and over again. I'm not sure, to be honest… But if I had to take a guess... ' _Death is only the beginning, a wish for those who_ … Uh… _dare to die_?' Or something like that. It's either that or ' _A deathwish for those who linger at the beginning_ '. I honestly don't know. What I do know is that this is making me feel extremely uncomfortable."

Lilith's smirk extended from ear to ear. "Well, what are we waiting for then? Danger awaits!" She exclaimed. Proudly marching into the unknown, her husband sighed behind her back, wondering if she even listened to what he just told her.

The two explored the ruins much like they would with any other Gamindustrian dungeon. It wasn't an easy task, but neither of them were unfamiliar to the concept. Especially Lilith, having travelled all around the world long before she even got to know the CPUs.

Any trap or monster that stood in their way was easily taken care of. As Lilith claimed: "Something as simple as a few floor traps and spinning blades won't stop an explorer of my calibre… Yeah, I gloat, because I'm awesome. Go Lilith!"

In other words, the traps were like childsplay to her. Bottomless pits, dart shooters, rolling boulders, none of these were any real form of danger to her. Not after skillfully disarming them, at least.

After hours of mapping out the dungeon, the duo decided to take a break in what seemed to be a rather safe hallway. While a few monsters roamed around, none of them were particularly threatening.

After making a small campfire, Lilith, examining the makeshift map they had created, wondered whether they were making any progress at all. "Ugh… All this walking… And it looks like we're not even halfway yet," she mumbled. "Hey, Geoff. Give me your depth meter for a sec."

"Hm?" In the middle of taking a bite of his apple, Geoffrey nodded and handed her said item. "You know those things only work underwater, right?"

"Of course I know," Lilith claimed before grabbing a jerry can of water. Removing the top, she drowned the meter in it for a good minute before taking it back out. "And… It says we're about a kilometer below sea level… We started about fifty meters _above_ sea level… So… It makes me wonder how much deeper this place goes."

"Not to mention how much colder it can get…" Geoffrey rubbed his hands together. "God… This is nowhere near as bad a Lowee, but if we're not even halfway there, I bet it's nothing but ice all the way down."

Lilith shrugged. "Hey, if it gets bad, just hit an Eject Button. First rule of exploration: always pack at least ten Eject Buttons."

The man let a laugh loose before biting down on his apple. "Eject Buttons. I'll drink to that," he said before chugging from his water bottle. "Hm. Say, I did some more reading along the way… Turns out that it really keeps on repeating that same line over and over again. Almost as if it's trying to encourage whoever dares to enter this place…" he paused and leaned forward with a grim expression, "or try to break the wills of desperate thieves hunting for the riches at the very end."

The words did little to intimidate the curious adventurer. "Meh. Isn't that why we're here? Look around, Geoff. We're walking through history here."

"History?" Geoffrey tossed the remaining of his fruit into the fire. "History is all behind us. I like to look ahead. And honestly, I feel like I'm backtracking by going through this place."

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Ugh… C'mon. Think bigger, Lucy. Once we get to the bottom of this place, I can wish for a portal between our worlds. Isn't that just the coolest thing ever?"

"Honestly… No, not really. I mean, a wish is fine and dandy and all…" Geoffrey looked down at the fire, a warm smile briefly appearing on his face. "But I already got everything I ever wanted."

"Eh?" She blinked a few times before shaking her head. "Wow. Sappy. Now of all times? Way to ruin the moment.~" A moment of silence passed before the woman smiled back. "... Love you too, Lucy."

They spent about an hour longer sitting around their fire before putting it out and placing all their supplies back into their hammerspaces. Feeling well rested, their spirits were back at an all time high. After all, it couldn't be that much further, could it? The end was probably right around the next corner. Or the one after it. Or the one after that one.

Little did they know that they were nowhere near the end yet. The deeper they ventured, the colder, darker and more dangerous the dungeon became. At some point, after several more hours of descending into the depths, the two had gotten so deep underground, the stone floor itself had become slippery. Even Lilith, with all her claimed knowledge and expertise, was not used to harsh climates like these.

As a matter of fact, the entire environment had changed completely. What before were brick walls and stone floorings was now permafrozen dirt. If it wasn't for the occasional ornament frozen in place, one would have wondered whether or not they were still in the dungeon. The deadly spikes that once littered the pits below were now sharp, deadly icicles sticking from the ceiling, as well as rising up from the ground. Not even the monsters that once stood in their way could survive under these conditions. Only the occasional fuzz-covered Dogoo blocked their path, and even those seemed more interested in staying warm than fighting.

Similar to a penguin, Geoffrey wobbled forward slowly, shivering as he rubbed his shoulders. "S-S-S-S-S-So… C-C-C-Cold… * **Achoo** *"

Inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth, a visible cloud of moisture exited her dried lips. Taking the depth meter from her pocket once more, she drew a bottle of water out of her hammerspace… Only for her to find its contents had frozen solid.

Biting her lower lip, Lilith did her best to shake off the cold. "C'mon L-Lucy… W-We-We gotta keep moving or we'll f-f-freeze… You know…"

Responding with just an annoyed growl, Geoffrey's pace slowed even more.

Surely, they were prepared for a grueling, deadly dungeon with harsh climates. One they would spend hours on end inside, evading traps and monsters until they would reach their ultimate goal.

This bone-chilling cold was something she hadn't anticipated. Even the most dangerous dungeons of Lowee were like tropical resorts compared to this place. For there to be a dungeon that would go this deep into the earth, it truly intrigued her. She wanted to press on. To find the hidden treasure of this hell. She could almost feel it calling for her. Almost as if she was at the doorstep of the final room.

Her partner was less motivated, however. Slipping, Geoffrey's face collided with the icy dirt. "Nghh… Hah… Hah… So… Cold…"

Lilith turned back around the moment she heard him fall. Watching her shivering husband struggle to get back on his feet, she witnessed him eventually give in, crawling up in a fetal position as he desperately fought for heat.

She rushed to his side, sliding across the ice right next to him. Kneeling down, Lilith ran her hand across the man's red cheek. With his eyes closed, his breathing was heavy. Almost unstable, even. If she couldn't find a way to bring his body temperature back up, an eternal slumber under a frozen blanket of ice would be inevitable.

Seeing her love in such a state snapped something inside her. Even if she was thrilled by the risk of adventure, she couldn't handle seeing someone she loved get hurt because of her own lust. If he was going to die, then it would've been her own fault. It was time to make a choice.

"Tsk… F-... Fuck it! T-T-T-To hell... With this… A-A-A-A-Adventure." Gritting her teeth, Lilith took an Eject Button from her hammerspace and placed her hand on her husband's shoulder. "This isn't worth dying for."

Pressing the button, Lilith closed her eyes and waited for the item to take its effect. On the count of five, she reopened them again, expecting to be right at the hole they entered again. If only life was that easy on them.

Lilith looked around. She was still underground. Not as deep as before, certainly. But they were nowhere near the surface. She found herself in a large, hollow space of permafrozen dirt with a small lake in the middle of it. Behind her was a large stone door. Comparing its size, she estimated about four trucks could fit through it simultaneously.

"S-... So… Cold…" Her husband whimpered.

Being brought back to reality, Lilith ran to lake before her and drowned her depth meter in it. She could tell the water was ice cold, but rather, it felt warm to her already numb skin.

"... Three kilometers below sea level…" She read. "Three. Kilometers!? How the hell did we end up this far down? Tsk! The Eject Button must've been a bust."

"I-It's not…" Geoffrey groaned, catching his wife's attention. His arm trembling he pointed towards the massive door. Like with the rest of the dungeon, there were symbols carved into it. "The end… Is the beginning… This dungeon… Is a deathwish! We _are_ at the entrance," he managed to bring out before coughing a few times and passing out.

* * *

Toby's eyes followed the written letters from left to right. Getting so entranced by the story, he had pulled to book a little too close to his eyes. Any more and the tip of his nose would surely bop the pages.

"This… This is only going to get worse, isn't it?"

Right as he asked, IF stepped out of the bedroom, dressed in her usual attire consisting of an oversized blue coat and a black shirt and shorts combo. "So… How far did you get?"

"Up to the 'Lucy has a fever' part. Where they have to camp there for the next few days… Also, I'm pretty sure it's implied they did some adult stuff on the final night."

Making her way to the kitchen, the agent filled her mug with another filling of coffee. "Yeah… Honestly, I'd skip the next few pages and go right to the final page. What comes next is pretty bad. I'm just happy it doesn't go into detail like some story or anything."

"You saying that doesn't give me any hopes of this story having a happy ending," Toby acknowledged.

"One of them dies, Toby," IF reminded. "Keep that in mind as you read. It will lessen the impact of the surprise."

Looking back down at the journal, Toby took note of the current page and carefully closed it. "I think that's enough for one day. This alone is making me feel pretty uneasy."

Taking a nearby chair, IF sat down on it backwards. "Right… Uh… Yeah. Sorry. I don't have much more to say on this stuff… Say, did you put your watch on silent mode? It's been blinking at me for some time now. Pretty sure you got a couple of messages."

"Huh? Oh… Err… Right…"

Pressing the single button on his watch, he turned it on. "Oh. I got a chirper message from Nepgear. Let's see…"

Tapping the screen twice, his watch displayed the message. Once the message loaded, Toby's face drained of blood.

 _ **News Flash: CPU Cyan Heart Saves the Day and Defeats CFW Magic; Tari's Shares Sky Rocket**_

Loading up the full article, he gave it a quick scan. It seemed like Geoffrey had claimed all the credit for taking care of CFW Magic. As there were no eyewitnesses, and considering they didn't take this into account, it was a free win for the Oracle of Tari.

" _You can't be serious,_ " Toby thought. " _I worked my ass off for… For_ _ **this**_ _to happen?_ "

"Something bad?" IF wondered. Toby quickly rose his wrist up to IF. Carefully reading what was presented to her, she facepalmed.

"Geoffrey, no…" IF grunted out in frustration.

* * *

"Geoffrey, yes!" The Oracle loudly cheered.

Back at Tari's Basilicom, Geoffrey had been celebrating his grand success of tricking all of Gamindustri into thinking Rei was the one that defeated CFW Magic. Sure, people were upset they nearly died and their CPU allowed such a thing to happen in the first place. But as it turns out, the power the media was strong enough to drown out those opinions.

Being the crazed person he is, Geoffrey wanted to celebrate in the craziest way possible.

"Okay, seriously," Linda began. "First of all, why did you synthesise this many share crystals? Second, why are you bathing in them? What is wrong with you?"

"Because we have a fuckton of shares, Linda!" the maniac in the kiddie pool responded, tossing a few of the crystals up in the air. To make sure his little tub wouldn't run dry, he had a duo of Valkyries pick up any crystals that would have been flung out, only to shower them over his head again. "This tiny kiddy pool isn't even a fraction of what we have in total! Rei's the number one CPU in all of Gamindustri! And it's all thanks to my hard work! Ahaha!"

Bringing the palm of her hand to her forehead, the underling shook her head. "You have issues, man."

Right then, the CPU of Tari entered the room in her human form. "Hey, worms for brains, I need-..."

"Ahahaha! Yes! Yes! Spray those shiny rocks all over my lovely hat! Gwa-ahaha!"

Blinking thrice, she mouthed something along the lines of 'what the hell' before altering her eyes between Linda and Geoffrey. "Has he been doing that for long now?"

"Do you consider two hours long?" Linda retorted.

Raising her nose, the cyan CPU slowly took a few steps backwards. "Oh… Oh no… I'm not even-... I'm just going to quietly leave."

"Wait. Aren't you do something about… whatever this is?" Linda asked, pointing at the man. "Please, for the love of all that is good, tell him to stop."

"I am so fucking happy right now~!" Geoffrey cheered before he resumed his laughter with the biggest, dumbest smile on his face.

"... I'm not nearing that," Rei said in disgust. "It might be infectious. Just looking at it gives me the feeling that my brain cells are committing suicide one by one. Uegh."

Looking back at the maniac, Linda shrugged and agreed. "You know what? You're right. I'm not getting paid enough for this. Probably should've left an hour ago… Wanna watch some-"

The delinquent's suggestion was cut short by a sudden tremor. An earthquake?

While the Valkyries drew their dual pistols, Geoffrey stopped playing with his crystals. "The devil? What was that? Did the Rotting Remains just blow up or something?"

"The rotting what now?" Rei questioned, glaring right at him.

Covering his mouth, the Oracle cleared his throat. "I, err… I'll explain that one later. Right now we should be asking why the entire Basilicom is shaking!"

As the tremors intensified, the share crystals in the tub started to glow brightly before turning into little streams of light, flowing through the air out of the room.

As everyone looked at each other, Linda was the first to take action. "Well don't just stand there. C'mon! Follow that light!"

Linda followed the rays of light all the way to the sharicite room. The rays streamed under through the door into the room. Pulling the doorknob, she quickly came to know that the door was tightly secured with an electric lock.

Looking back at Rei, which had just arrived, she asked "Hey, what the number combination of the door?"

"What? How should I know?" Rei cried angrily.

"... Seriously? You're the CPU around here, aren't you? You're supposed to know that stuff, man."

Carefully moving past Rei, doing his best to not touch her, Geoffrey softly pushed Linda aside. Entering the right combination the man pushed the door open, only to flinch back to cover his eyes, as a pillar of light erupted from inside.

Putting on a pair of shades, Linda pushed the man aside and entered the room… Only for her to stumble out again back with the palms of her hands resting on her sockets. "My eyes! Fuck! My eyes! So bright!"

"Gah! Pathetic! Out of the way," Rei commanded, entering the room with her eyes shut. The light felt warm to her skin, filling her with comfort. The excess rays of shares that burst out of the room were all too welcoming to her. This wasn't the time for pleasantries, however. Something was happening. And she had to find out what.

Slowly peeling her eye open, she could just make out a silhouette amidst the blinding beam. It… Is that... A human?

Stepping closer with her arm covering her eyes, she gritted her teeth. Fortunately, the light was starting to dim out.

"Is that-... Hey, my Lady? Is there someone else in there?" Geoffrey shouted from out of the room.

As the light finally died out, Rei aggressively swung her arm down. "Alright! Speak, maggot! Who are you?"

Before her stood a girl a little smaller than herself with her eyes closed. Completely nude, she brushed her light blue hair back. Opening her eyes to reveal a pair of sapphire blue irises, she wore an indifferent expression. "Where… Am I?" She asked softly with a monotone voice.

Standing to Rei's right, Linda looked the girl from head to toe. "Whoa? Who's this broad? And why is she naked? Yeesh. Show some modesty."

"Mo-... Modesty?" The girl quietly repeated, looking rather dazed.

Geoffrey too stepped to stand beside Rei. Standing to her left, he scratched the back of his head. "Uhh… I'm at a loss for words. Why is there a girl no older than fourteen in our sharicite room?"

"S-Sharicite?" The girl repeated again, like a young child repeating its parents.

Linda took a few steps to the girl, bending down in front of her to meet her on eye level. "Hm… Say, this broad looks an awful lot like Lady Rei, doesn't she?"

"Lady… Rei?"

"Wait a second," the Oracle gasped. "Teenage girl with A to low B cup. Nude in the sharicite room after we gained a fu-... A lot of shares. Looks like she has no idea how she got here…"

With his eyes wide, Geoffrey rushed forward, examining the girl carefully. "You're… You're a CPU Candidate, aren't you?"

"Cee-Pee… Juu?"

"Eh?" Rei froze in shock. A CPU Candidate of Tari? Was that even possible? Did this make her… A big sister!? " **Ehhhh?!** What!?"

"You serious?" Linda exclaimed, looking the man dead in the eyes. His expression was stern. "... My god, you are serious."

While Geoffrey and Linda started to discuss something, Rei was having trouble coping with the situation. Her psychotic instincts were unsure how to react to the situation. "I have… A younger sister now? I-… I'm a-… I'm a big sister!?"

Linda was quick to notice Rei's distress. Looking back down at the newborn Candidate she put her hand on her back and softly pushed her towards Rei. "Why don't you introduce yourself to your big sister?"

The moment the grey girl referred to her as 'big sister', Rei's heart skipped a beat. This was getting very awkward.

"My… Big sister."

Nodding excitedly, Geoffrey gave the girl a double thumbs up. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh! That there is Rei Ryghts. She would love to learn your name too, right ' _big sister_ '?

"Ah. I see…"Placing her hands on her lap, she bowed politely. "Hello, big sister. Nice to meet you… My name is π-11-e."

* * *

 **And thus,** **PiminuselevenminusEulersnumber has made her appearance… Yep. That's her name. Hope you'll like reading it because I'll have to refer to it a lot. (In all seriousness, there is a short version. See if you can figure it out before the next chapter before I reveal it myself)**

 **Anyway, not much else for me to say. So until next time!**


	19. Chapter 19 - Heart to Heart

**Well then… I honestly got nothing for why this one took so long. So other than bow my head and say I apologise, there's nothing really for me to do… Let's get to the reviews… Boy… These reviews sure are long…**

Anibi: The other parts of [Ascension and Descension] are indeed behind a paywall for the low price of 19.99 bucks. Preorder now… In all seriousness, the parts will be scattered throughout the story. Any time Toby has time to read them, you get to read them as well. I can't promise that there will be a consistent gap

Anyway, to respond to your question… Sure. She _could_ wish for that. But she doesn't want to… I have no other explanation for this. Doesn't sound seeing a new world sound far more appealing than getting RNG dungeons either way?

Speaking of wishes… Indeed. If there is a wish at the end of the dungeon, who knows how much you can ask for.

Shadicgon: I wasn't planning on tricking anyone. It's as simple as what her mood was at the time. In the flashback, she was feeling quite down, while here, she was extremely excited. Also, I should add that, as you may know, the public _thinks_ Lilith died in the Gamindustri Graveyard… I won't spoil what really happened. I'll leave that up to you to figure out.

Right. Toby… Well, turns out that if you take a break as long as I did, you get ideas. And you work on them. Turns out I have a pretty good way for Toby to make his final bow. But rest assured. He's in a good spot. If you loved him up until now, you'll love him for every lasting moment he's here.

To Broach Or To Put up: Fear not, my child! As I, the author of this here story have already established that Toby has a thing for flat brunettes. Therefore, he shall rapidly expand his harem by first collecting all the waifu's that meet these criteria! Followed by all Goddesses! And finally, he shall make love to every maker/human known to man! Toby shall reign supreme as the one king of Gamindust—

To Broach Or To Put up 2: Oh… Uh… Yeah. I was… um… just kidding… too…

guerilla sam: Glad you are enjoying the story so far. Hearing someone say that is always something that puts a smile on my face.

Right. Geoffrey. The 'perfect' villain. Yes, I have things planned for him. And yes, he's had a _**very**_ easy time so far. I understand it can get annoying and that his motives may appear a little shallow at the moment, but over time, I'll be revealing his backstory. For now, you'll have to trust me that, whatever happened, he's not using it as an excuse to do whatever he pleases… In my eyes, he might even be justified. To a certain degree, of course.

The world may be bending to him now, but when the CPUs start to focus him down (unlike when ASIC was a thing again), he'll feel the heat rising again.

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Heart to Heart**

"Okay. Okay. Once more. What do people call you?" Geoffrey asked, holding a pen and a clipboard.

"π-11-e," the Candidate repeated for the fourth time, her hands resting on her lap.

After introducing herself to her new 'family' for the first time, the people before her scattered. Geoffrey rushed out of the room to fetch a bathrobe and something to take notes on. Linda, on the other hand, grabbed the newborn by her wrist and dragged her out of the sharicite room to her boss' office… Even if the kiddie pool was still there. She'd rather talk there than in a dark, desolate room with only one gem sparkling in the middle, illuminating the rest of the surroundings.

Rei, however, just awkwardly followed Linda's lead, walking after them and never letting this new sister out of her sight. Something about this kid was suspicious. Why was she born only just now? Why was she acting so innocently? What could she possibly be planning? She didn't trust this girl one bit.

After returning to the room and tossing the Candidate a bathrobe, Geoffrey sat down on his desk and began asking the Candidate all sorts of questions.

"PiminuselevenminusEulersnumber," the Oracle repeated, tapping his clipboard with the back of his pen a few times. "Hrmm… Doesn't exactly, well, roll off the tongue, does it?"

Sitting cross-legged on his desk, Geoffrey scribbled something down. Linda, sitting backwards on his office chair pointed at the Candidate, now dressed in a blue bathrobe. "How about ' _it's way too damn long_ ' instead? C'mon man—who named you?"

"... But that's my name," the Candidate persisted, an indifferent expression on her face. "And I think it's cute. So it's cute."

Geoffrey and Linda looked at each other. In silence, they agreed that this name wouldn't do. It was too long, complicated, and simply didn't make sense. No way they could announce the girl's birth with a name like that. The people of Tari would go crazy. If they had trouble pronouncing Neptune's, who knows what they would do if they had to pronounce this girl's name.

"Then… How about something with a little more ' _imouto_ '?" the man suggested. "Something a bit more little sister? Something a little cuter."

"But I think my name is cute," the newborn pouted.

Sighing, Linda massaged her temples. "Yeah. And we don't. So we're gonna think of a better name for you… Like Rei-Junior. Or… Reigear. What about Rei-ndeer?"

"Yeah, no. We're late by nearly an entire month for that joke," Geoffrey mumbled.

Feeling a little hurt by the comments the two made about her name, she turned to her big sister, who was still glaring daggers at her from the back of the room. "Big sister… Do you… like my name?"

"Pff. No!" Rei immediately snapped back. "Of course I don't! You just jammed a few numbers together and called it a day. What are you, a nerd?"

"Uhh… Well—" The Candidate stammered, quickly averting her eyes. "Oh… I see."

Geoffrey and Linda rewarded Rei's insult with judgemental stares.

"M-... Maybe a little too far, my Lady?" the Oracle carefully questioned.

"Eh? What are you two staring at? You're saying it like I'm the only one here judging her by her name."

Linda got up from her seat and walked to stand beside Geoffrey. "Yeah, but we don't insult her for it. Geez… Anyway, what did you come up with, old timer?"

After Geoffrey pointed at a certain line on his clipboard, Linda read what he came up with. And then she nodded in agreement. "Yeah… That's passable. Also makes sense. Hmm…"

Eying the Candidate, Linda smiled in the most friendly way she could, which was still nothing shy of a rather smug, disturbing grin. "Kinda suits her too. Alright, from now on your name's Pixie."

"P-Pixie?" the Candidate mumbled.

"Pixie!" Geoffrey proudly stated, turning his clipboard for everyone to see. "Pi - XI - e. We just have to put eleven in Roman numbers, use the E for Euler's number and bam. Pixie."

Pixie's expression remained neutral. After a moment of thinking, a light blush spread across her cheeks. "I like that name…"

Smiling contently, Geoffrey got up from his desk and walked towards the girl. "Then from this day on, you shall be known as Pixie: the CPU Candidate of Tari." Placing one hand on the girl's shoulder, he gave her a thumbs up and a grin. "Now before anything else, why don't we get you dressed? Can't have you walking around in that plain old bathrobe forever, right?"

Adjusting said bathrobe, Pixie nodded. "Can I… get cool clothes like… big sister?"

Geoffrey fixed his eyes on Rei In her human form, she wore very formal clothes. With her black suit, white undershirt and dark tie, she gave off a vibe similar to a business-woman. If only her looks matched her personality.

Getting exactly the idea of what the girl wanted, the Oracle placed his hands on his back and marched to the nearest way out of the room. "Cool, indeed. I'm sure you'll look just dandy in clothes like big sister Rei's. C'mon. Follow Mister Oracle to the nearest Valkyrie dressing room."

Taking the Candidate by the wrist, Linda pulled her along, causing her to nearly trip. "Follow the ape with the hat," she commanded.

Dragging the poor Candidate out of the room, Linda left Rei to her own devices. She kept her focus on the doorway the trio had left through for the next minute.

Standing there with her arms folded for another minute or so, Rei tapped her finger on her upper arm in an annoyed fashion.

"Sister…"

A little sister born from the fruits of her labour. The thought repeated itself over and over again. Each and every time it did, that feeling of spite in the pit of her stomach started to flow deeper through her body. Pure, unexplainable, false spite, directed at a young girl that has done nothing wrong in her entire, unbegun life.

Her head slowly started to follow a rather outrageous train of thought. " _A sister… Born because of my efforts? Why? I never wanted a sister! I was fine with being an only child! Who asked for her, anyway? Not me, that's for sure!_ "

Her eyes widened when she had a sudden revelation. "Maybe… Maybe you're here to overthrow me… And then take over the entire nation as the sole CPU! That makes sense! That makes complete sense! Yeah! It does!"

Narrowing her eyes, her fingernails dug deep into her own skin as she gritted her own teeth.

"I'll be ready for the day you betray me, brat," she hissed. "Or maybe I'll just kill you before that. I will _not_ be betrayed again. I won't! I won't! I will not!"

* * *

"Okay. I need to ask this one more time… Are you sure this is the right way?" Toby asked, holding a small bouquet of white flowers in one hand. "We've been looking for nearly an hour now and—"

"Toby!" IF interjected, stomping her foot against the cold polymer flooring. "I wrote it down. Ward B, third floor, room seven. It has to be around here somewhere."

"If you say so…"

A little after the duo had gotten dressed, they were formally invited by Histoire to come and visit the now recovered Neptune in the hospital. After taking a small detour to Lithyum's house and picking up Toby's blade and a few flowers for the CPU of Planeptune for a gift, they went straight to the hospital.

IF, claiming she knew her way around after tagging along with Compa so much, took charge and led Toby to what she considered 'the right way'. Considering they had been wandering around aimlessly for about an hour now… Things were going better than expected!

Taking his friend's word for granted, Toby scratched his cheek as he breathed deeply through his nose. "Alright," he said as he breathed out. "Well, if you say so…"

The two continued exploring the halls aimlessly. Passing several rooms, none of them matched IF's noted destination. Was this even ward B? What floor were they on? Did room seven even exist? All these questions started to bounce around in Toby's head.

After another three turns or so, Toby's patience had grown thin. Luckily for him, a rather young, blue-eyed woman in a nurse outfit happened to step into the hallway. She adjusted the headband in her brown hair as she kept walking. It wasn't anyone familiar to him, but if she worked here, she had to have known the way.

"Excuse me, miss," Toby greeted as he approached the woman. "We're, uh… A little lost. Do you maybe know where ward B is? Room seven on the third floor?"

The young woman smiled kindly. "Certainly. Room seven is the other way, actually. Just go back and turn left. Third door on the right."

The teen looked over his shoulder then back at the nurse. Nodding twice, he thanked her before nodding to IF to follow him.

"... She was cute," Toby murmured under his breath, not intending for IF to hear this.

"Excuse me?" IF exclaimed.

"Ah! Err… I, uh… I thought she looked cute," Toby explained quietly. "N-Nothing wrong with that."

The agent stopped and folded her arms. "Wait. Are you seriously calling other girls cute when you have a girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend? I don't have a girlfriend."

IF raised an eyebrow. "So, what? That whole confession to Lithyum from a few days ago meant nothing?"

"What? No, it's just-... Uhhh… Well…" Averting his gaze, Toby raised the ghostly white flowers he was holding. "Right. I never told you. She, uh… She told me that she and I wouldn't really work as an item together the next morning… I mean, um..."

The halls were quiet for a moment as IF tried to process this. Several times she opened her mouth to try and say something, but quickly swallowed it again before she could spit it out. "So you're single?" She finally managed to bring out. Receiving a weak nod from him, a faint smile appeared on her face. Toby wasn't quite sure if it was out of pity or not.

"Not gonna lie, now I just feel bad for you. Surrounded by so many girls, yet you're still the poor soul that has never had a girlfriend before."

"H-Hey! What makes you think I never had one back in my dimension? Because I totally had. Everyone was practically fawning over my charms! Like… um… from head to toe!"

Walking past him, IF gave him a few pats on his shoulder. "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

"Hey!" Toby exclaimed before lowering his voice. "I know that..."

As the duo turned the corner, Toby counted the right-hand doors. It was the third door on the right, wasn't it?

Just then, Blanc stepped out of the third door. Dropping her shoulders, she let a sigh escape her lips. She looked rather stressed out.

"Hello there, Lady Blanc," IF greeted in a friendly tone.

Looking up, Blanc gave them her signature look—indifferent and unimpressed. "Hm? Ah. IF. And Toby. Good afternoon. Have you two come to visit Neptune as well?"

Raising the flowers once more, Toby nodded thrice with excitement. "Yeah. We even brought her some flowers."

"White lilies?" Blanc questioned. "They look… Ghostly. Lifeless. When I look straight at them, it feels as if they stare back at me… Are you sure those wouldn't befitting more of a funeral than a hospital visit?"

The teen slowly lowered his flowers. the feeling of regret started to creep up his spine as Blanc spoke her mind. "Well, I mean, maybe?"

"I see…" Blanc alternated her look between the duo before her. "IF. Do you mind if I speak to Toby privately for a moment?"

The agent gave Toby a look of confusion. Being just as clueless as she was, Toby raised his shoulders. "Alright then," IF said as she took the flowers from Toby. "I'll just go see Nep then."

Entering the room, IF quickly closed the door behind her. In the brief moment the door was open, Toby could make out the laughter of Neptune, as well as that of Rom and Ram.

The brunette before him stared at his face for a moment with a look lacking of any emotion.

"Hey," she began. "Holding it together there?

"Right… Y-Yeah. I'm just fine."

So far, Blanc had given him quite a handful of 'speeches'. They ranged from general scolding to more motivational chats. Considering the promise she had made to him back in Anarchy Arena, this was probably going to be a short talk regarding that.

In the back of his mind, Toby also wondered if he should tell her what he did to save Rom and Ram. In the end, he chose not to. It wasn't _that_ important anyway, right? Yeah. Anyone there would've done the same. Whether it was IF or Falcom, they would've done the exact same, but probably better. At least, that was his mindset.

Placing her hands on her lap, Blanc bowed her upper body deeply. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

The teen was taken aback by the sudden gesture. Allowing his mouth to slightly fall agape, he retreated a single step backwards. "Err…" he stammered as he awkwardly ran his eyes across the hallway.

Adjusting her hat as she raised herself again, Blanc continued. "I've seen what you did. You literally jumped off the side of the arena, into a burning pit of Dogoo slime, to catch my sisters. At the time, I thought you and my sisters were done for."

She paused for a second, raising her fist with a determined look. "But when I saw you and my sisters rush back into the arena, I figured it out. You had a plan all along. I'm still not sure how you did it, but you have my gratitude. Thank you, Toby."

Unsure how to respond, Toby rapidly tried to formulate an answer. "Well, I mean…"

Standing there quietly for a good five seconds, Toby eventually rubbed the back of his head with a light blush on his face combined with a wide smile. "T'was nothing, really… I mean-... I, uh… I did what you told me to do! And nothing more. Glad to have helped out."

Before she could respond, however, a certain busty blonde popped out of seemingly nowhere behind Toby. "Such a nice thank you, Blanc. I didn't take you for the charismatic type."

"Gya!" The startled teen gasped. "Ah. Vert… Why do you keep doing that?"

Blanc gave a look of disapproval. "I was just giving him the acknowledgement he deserved. Nothing more… I'm glad you could make it, though. It's time to tell them."

The gleeful smile on Vert's face faltered a little upon hearing these words. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But it has to be done."

"Bad news?" Toby asked.

"Uni," Vert clarified in a serious tone with an expression to match. "As you know, Rom and Ram have been held captive this entire time. We haven't had the chance to tell them yet. As for Neptune… Histoire was against telling her until she had recovered."

"She's doing fine now," Blanc added. "So we're about to tell her."

"A-Ah… Right… S-... Should I come back another time then?"

"You can stay," Vert responded. "In fact, we'd rather have you stay… Neptune's been wanting to talk to you for a long time now… It seems she watched all of Anarchy Arena on TV… We were happy to tell her about the parts that weren't broadcast."

Thinking back, there were probably a few moments of him doing some heroic stuff caught by the cameras and announcers...

"So I should just tag along then?"

"Of course," Vert said. "We'd love to have you join us, Toby."

Feeling a little spark of joy in the pit of his stomach, Toby couldn't help but muster a warm smile.

Taking his smile for a response, Vert nodded at Blanc, who nodded back. It was time to tell them.

Pushing the door open, the trio walked in unnoticed. Neptune and the twins were far too busy playing by rolling around in the lush purple carpet spread on the floor while IF stood there with one hand on her hip watching the whole spectacle before her.

The room was nothing short of being your standard hospital patient bedroom. With a single white bed against the back wall and a steel nightstand resting next to it along with an iv stand, it gave Toby a similar vibe to the hospital rooms in the horrible soap opera he watched earlier this morning.

Clearing her throat, Vert caught the attention of all girls in the room. She wanted to get straight to the point, but Neptune, eager to see Toby again, made a hop, a skip and a jump to him the second she spotted him.

"Hey, hey! It's the Orange Outplay himself! Tobanana!"

Giving her a glare, Blanc muttered "Never call him that ever again."

"Heh… Sorry." Getting a little too close to his face, Neptune made a wide smile. "I'm so glad you're still alive! You were so cool when all those thugs surrounded you! Like… I seriously thought you were going to kick the bucket for realsies there… No joke."

"Well, I-... I'm sure you know that I felt the same at the time," Toby responded half-heartedly.

"But then you got right back up and smashed them all into bits! Not only that, but my gosh, the way you beat those Emal Elites in the second round? Hilarious! Look! I even made a meme out of it!"

Taking out her phone, Neptune shoved it in Toby's face. He backed of a little and snatched the phone out of her hand. "Wait, what? Did you just say 'meme'?"

Sure enough, on the phone was the typical format of a cheap meme: four pictures from left to right. The first was simply a disguised Toby and Blanc handing the Captain the fake shirt, just like they did for real back then. However, on the second panel, a close up of the Captain holding the shirt up, the contents were altered slightly from what really happened. Instead of there being a small typo in the name, instead it said 'Your Waifu is Trash' on the shirt… Which, in the third panel, caused the Captain to lose his cool… The fourth panel was Toby and Blanc laughing evilly.

"... Why?" was all Toby could say.

"You like it?" Neptune asked. "I put it up about two hours ago and it's already trending on Chirper! Hashtag 'TrickyToby'!"

IF, already on her phone, let out an annoyed growl. "She's not joking. You hit the front page of Neppit with it… Heck, people are already making compilation videos of it on Neptube..."

Blanc stifled a snicker. "As if his life wasn't enough of a joke already… Now he's become a meme!"

"W-Who are you calling a joke here!?" Toby exclaimed.

"I-I think Mister Toby isn't a joke!" Ram said.

"You said he saved us, didn't you, Blanc?" Rom asked. "So… we should be nice to him…"

Both twins turned to him. Rom, being the first to make a respectful bow (followed by her sister in a more hesitant manner) as she smiled kindly. "Blanc told us… to thank you when we would see you again… Thank you… Mister Toby."

"Yeah! Uh… You totally rock, you know!" Ram added. "Thank you for rescuing us!"

"Hm… Well, at least they thanked him nicely," Blanc sighed. "Fine. I'll buy you something sweet later. With that out of the way... What I'm more interested in is you, Neptune."

Pointing at herself with an oblivious expression, Neptune asked "Eh? Me? What about me?"

"Yes. You. You still haven't told any of us. What the hell caused you to fall in a coma for so long?"

Rubbing the back of her head, Neptune looked down. "Yeesh. You're not pulling any punches, huh? Well, whatever! It's simple! See, when I blocked that one hit for Noire, I got hit by this big blade trimmed with a ruby edge or… something. Whatever it was, it _really_ hurt and drained me of all my power… Turns out a few of those shards got stuck under my skin… Ugh. The idea alone is making my back feel all tingly again."

Silence befell the room. Placing one hand on his chin, Toby looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. " _A ruby edge? So… Red crystals… Like… Anti-Crystals?"_

"Hey, Toby. You're looking awfully grim," IF mumbled. "You okay there?"

"Oh, uh… Yeah, no I was just… you know… thinking."

With a faked cough, Vert captured everyone's attention once more. "We shouldn't get off track, Blanc. Don't forget why we're here."

Blanc bit the corner of her mouth before speaking up. "Right… Rom. Ram. Neptune. a seat. There's something we have to tell you."

The three girls in question instantly had a few question marks popping up above their heads. But, without too much protesting, each of them sat down on the side of the hospital bed. Blanc and Vert walked to stand before them.

Toby swallowed as cold sweat started to run down his neck. They were finally going to tell them what happened to Uni… How would they react? How bad will they take it? It wasn't going to be long before these questions would be answered.

IF took a step towards Toby and nudged him with her elbow. Quietly, she asked "Hey. What are they going on about?"

"Uni," Toby whispered back.

"Oh… Oh boy."

Taking a step back to the corner of the room, Toby and IF decided to stay out of this. No matter how badly they wanted to stop it, this had to be done. There was no way around it.

Blanc looked at each one of them as she called out their names. "Rom. Ram. Neptune. There's something we need to tell you. It's very important, so please, listen carefully."

"Uh-huh… Sure," Neptune replied with a tone of joy in her voice. "What's cookin', Blanc?"

"Is it… something bad?" Rom carefully asked.

Neither Blanc nor Vert dared to answer. Taking a breath, Vert was the first to continue. "Rom. Ram. Do you know what happened to Uni after you three were captured?"

Ram raised her hand. "Oh! I know! They totally cheated, locked us up and stuff… They told me I had to praise some dumb chip or whatever or they would hurt Rom." She folded her arms and pouted. "Those big meanies!"

Shaking her head, Blanc furrowed her expression. "No. That's not what she meant. We… Nngh…"

"Whew," Neptune sighed. "You okay there, Blanc? Your face is kinda going pale…"

Blanc responded with silence. Looking at Vert, Neptune received no reassurance. Once more, she looked at Blanc. Then back at Vert again. "Uh… T-This isn't funny, guys. Your faces are all gloomy."

Vert shook her head. "We should get to the point, Blanc…"

The petite CPU's legs felt weak. Her hands were trembling. The piercing gazes of anticipation and anxiety that were fixated on her caused the words to stumble in the back of her mouth. "Right… You see…"

She paused once more. If wasn't clear to them before, it certainly was now. There was something seriously wrong if someone like Blanc was having trouble telling them.

Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind of everything. "A few days ago, Noire, Vert and I received a call from Good Luck Lana… The spy. She told us Geoffrey and Uni were spotted near Lowee…"

Neptune's expression seemed to somewhat lighten up. "That's not so bad… I mean, could be worse."

"Let her finish, Neptune," Vert spoke softly.

"We flew over as fast as we could," Blanc continued. "And once we got there… Uni… We-... We found her. We found her all alone in the snow… She was injured…Pretty badly..."

Blanc paused once more. The quiet gazes of everyone made for an awkward setting.

Right when she opened her mouth to continue, Rom asked "Is miss Uni going to be okay?"

Unable to respond, Blanc averted her gaze to Vert's side. Getting the hint, Vert continued in her place. "I'm afraid that's not going to be the case… Her injury was quite bad… And, well… Lastation's shares were at a rather low point at the time… It pains me to say but—"

" **Nepu**!" Neptune yelled with her eyes wide. "Are you telling me that Noire's baby sis is dead!?"

Vert now also averted her gaze before she closed her eyes and gave a slow nod.

Rom curled her legs on the bed and wrapped her arms around them. Ram, on the other hand, jumped off and pointed at Vert. "No way! That's not true! That can't be true! Miss Uni is a CPU! CPUs would never lose! They can't die because of a little cut or something, right!?... R-Right?"

The silence cut deep into Ram's naivety. She gave everyone a desperate look. Even Toby and IF, which could do nothing more than look the other way.

"Right? Guys? Why is-... Why is everyone looking away?"

Unable to contain herself any longer, Blanc embraced her younger sister, holding her by her back. "I'm sorry..."

The first few seconds, Ram stood frozen. But on the count of five, she placed her hands on Blanc's belly and tried to push herself free with all her might. "No! No no no no! That's not true! That's not true at all! That can't be-... Miss Uni wouldn't-... She can't-! I-... No!"

As Blanc held on dearly to her, tears started to well up in the eyes of the youngest twin. Now rather than pushing, she began slapping her sister while occasionally kicking wildly with her feet. "N-No! Miss… Miss Uni! This isn't fair! She's a CPU! C-CPUs can't die like that! Tell me that's not true!"

"Miss Uni…" Rom softly whimpered. Curling up in a ball, she slumped over on the bed. With her eyes clenched, she covered them with the palms of her hands as she quietly wept.

Vert sat down beside the eldest twin and gently placed her head on her lap, caressing her hair as means of comforting. On her third stroke, Rom's calm weeping bursted out in a more extreme cry. Turning her head towards Vert's stomach, she grabbed on to her lush dress and pulled on it tightly. The seams of her dress looked like they would tear if she pulled any harder. All Vert could do was continue stroking her head over and over.

Ram, on the other hand, had finally lost her will to resist. Her violent tantrum faded and was replaced with the need to cling on to her eldest sister—the mucus leaking from her nose stained her white dress.

Neptune, having said nothing so far, didn't cry. Rather, she had her head lowered, making her bangs shadow her eyes. Sitting in complete silence, she mustered the courage to speak up. "How's Noire?"

Slightly taken back by the sudden question, Blanc shook her head. "W-What was that?"

"How's Noire…?"

Vert and Blanc exchanged a look before the latter replied. "She's in her guest room in the Basilicom... The one next to your room. She's done nothing but work all week long."

Without a second to spare, Neptune closed her eyes and activated her HDD. In her stead appeared Purple Heart, which jumped off the bed towards the window. Pulling it open with one hand, she spread her wings and flew outside before anyone could stop her.

IF held her hand out towards the CPU. "A-Ah! Nep, where are… you… going…. And she's gone…"

Slowly lowering her hand, she shot Toby a look. He had a hand on his mouth as he looked down with watery eyes. When he noticed her gaze, he quickly wiped his eyes. "S-Sorry… This is just a little hard to watch…"

IF nodded before quietly responding. "I don't blame you. I'm barely holding it together here as well… Let's go get a fresh breath of air."

Looking up one final time at the scene before him, Toby watched the still frame of the four girls. Perhaps he and IF should've left a long time ago. They were clearly out of place in this picture.

Deep down, he just hoped they would be able to get over it as soon as possible.

Turning his feet to the door, Toby gave IF a slow nod. "Yeah… Let's."

* * *

 _Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock…. Tick…_

Sitting at her desk with a straight back while correcting yet another mistake in her papers, Noire inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth.

Even with their concrete victory at Anarchy Arena yesterday, her work was far from over. If anything, that battle was simply a slight hiccup in her schedule and nothing more. She didn't even attend to the little afterparty the few of them had at Tari's CPU Hotel. She considered it a waste of her precious time.

With each passing second counted down by that obnoxious clock, Noire's progress on her work continued. Of course, she was long done, even before Anarchy Arena. But what's wrong with looking over every single paper for the seventh time? Maybe there was a mistake she had missed on the first six times. She'd rather avoid the risk.

A quiet knock on her door caused Noire's ear to twitch. She expected Histoire to have come and look over her work. Without even looking up from her papers, she responded with "Come in".

It took a little while before the door finally creaked open. The steps on the purple carpet told Noire that whoever this was, it wasn't Histoire. Narrowing her eyes, she turned towards her guest. Before her stood a familiar curvy figure with dark lilac-purple hair.

"Hello, Noire," Purple Heart greeted with a friendly voice as she walked in. She took careful steps as if she were treading on eggshells. "May I come in?"

Noire blinked twice with a stern expression. "So you're finally better? Good… It was about time they fixed you up."

The silence, only broken by the ticking of the clock, reigned the room. The two Goddesses looked each other in the eyes without saying another word.

When Purple Heart broke contact, she gazed around the room. "Even for a guest room, this place feels a little boring, don't you think? One bed. A desk, a chair a wall-clock and a plain nightstand holding a vase filled with flowers… You don't even have a closet in here."

"Well, maybe you should get me one. This is _your_ Basilicom, remember?"

Purple Heart chuckled lightly as she sat down on the feet-end of the bed. "Of course. I'll be sure to notify Histoire of your complaints as soon as possible."

"Tch… Whatever. I'm busy, so if you don't mind, I'm just going to get back to work..."

"... Very well."

Scoffing her head, Noire returned her attention to her papers. Having lost track of where she left off, she began at the top of her current form once more. She'd rather double check something than overlook a section and risk letting a mistake slip by.

Purple Heart sat in silence on the bed, staring at the wall before her. The consistent ticking of the clock, as well as the occasional sound of Noire turning over to her next page, would have driven anyone crazy. But Purple Heart persisted. She was trying to bring Noire a message. One she surely would pick up on sooner or later.

Minutes passed before Noire lowered her papers once more. Dropping her pen on top of the stacked sheets, she dropped back in her chair. "What do you want?"

Purple Heart smiled with her eyes closed. "I just wanted to check up on my friend, Noire… Is that so wrong?"

"Yeah… Well, I'm the only one here, so clearly you've got the wrong room."

Letting her remark sink in, Purple Heart sighed. "I can't deny, that one hurt a little…"

"Don't look at me. You're the one always going on about how I'm a loner. Now get lost before your lazy attitude starts to rub off on me."

The hostile words aimed at the Goddess of Planeptune were cold. They were meant to kick her out of the room with nothing but crude intentions. However, it wasn't hard to tell that they were layered with a tone of insincerity.

"Why won't you take a five-minute break, Noire?" Purple Heart asked kindly. "Knowing you, you've been working ever since you got back… Am I right?"

"Tch…That's… No. Not at all. Of course I've been taking breaks," Noire lied. "In fact, before you came in, I was in the middle of—"

"Noire," Purple Heart interrupted. "... Be honest."

Biting the walls of her mouth, Noire looked the other way. "F-Fine… I guess a two-minute break won't hurt anyone."

Smiling, Purple Heart tapped the spot next to her on the bed. To which Noire responded with by standing up from her chair and sitting down next to her, albeit reluctantly. With her arms folded, she looked down at the purple carpet.

Suddenly, Purple Heart placed one hand on her thighs. The latex glove touching her bare skin made Noire shoot her guest a questioning look. "What are you—"

Before she could finish, Purple Heart had placed her other hand on her back and pulled her friend closer towards her. Now huddling up close beside her, Noire blushed faintly. "Uhh… Neptune?"

Purple Heart wasn't done yet, though. Moving the hand on her back up to the back of her head, she gently caressed her before slowly taking hold of it and bringing her head to her chest.

With her right ear pressing against the soft cushions, Noire's mind raised a few red flags. "W-What are you trying to do here!? Hey! Neptune! This isn't funny… It's… embarrassing…"

"It's alright to do something like this with a friend, right?" Purple Heart asked. "Of course, if you don't like it, you just have to say so."

Noire placed a hand on Neptune's leg and carefully pushed off of her. When her ear was no longer touching her soft chest, she was filled with an empty feeling of disappointment. "I-... I never said I _didn't_ like it."

Pushing her right ear back to fit between Purple Heart's cleavage, Noire felt shame fill her at first. The intimate feeling of being this close to her friend's chest… It would've sent her heart racing in any other scenario.

But this felt different.

With stress and worries weighing on her shoulders, those chains were soon lifted and forgotten. The warmth resonating from Purple Heart's body along with the gentle stroking of her hair and the sound of her calm heartbeat made Noire feel at peace.

Wrapping one arm around Neptune's body, Noire felt herself calm down. The motherly affection shown to her by her friend was perhaps just what she needed in this dire time.

Her head started to feel heavy. Using Purple heart's chest as a cushion, she rested her head on it and relaxed her muscles. Slowly closing her eyes, she could just drift to sleep right now. Perhaps she was more tired than she first let on.

Countless minutes passed. The clock's ticking had long gone mute to the both of them. For how long have they been sitting like this? Ten minutes? Half an hour? An actual hour?

Eventually, Purple Heart spoke up again. "Tell me Noire… How do you really feel?"

Noire opened her eyes sleepily. "How do I… feel? What do you… mean by that?"

"... I've known you for quite some time now. And I know for a fact that you love holding on dearly to your image. Your posture. Your pride. The way people perceive you. You don't show anyone your weakness."

Purple Heart paused. "Of course, that also means you tend to bottle up your true feelings… I know this might be hard for you to do, but… please. Tell me how you feel Noire… Because when Blanc and Vert came into my room earlier today and told me what happened in Lowee, the first thing I asked was how you were doing."

Her careful approach felt somewhat vague to Noire. But it didn't take her long to connect the dots either. She was talking about Uni. She wanted to know how she was coping with the death of her own sister.

Noire's fingers curled up. Her mouth went slightly agape as she breathed out through it. She wanted to tell her that she was doing fine and that it didn't bother her in the slightest. That there was no reason for her to be concerned. She desperately tried to speak up. But every time she did, the knot in her throat prevented her from doing so. It wouldn't be the truth. It wouldn't allow herself to be dishonest. Not anymore.

It was time to be honest.

Tears started to well up in the corners of Noire's eyes. Clinging on to Purple Heart even tighter, she now smothered her face in her chest. "I-... I miss her…" she slowly began. "I miss her so damn much…"

Purple Heart's smile extended as she stopped caressing Noire's head. Rather than move her hand, she held it still on the back of her head.

"I miss Uni so… so much!" Noire continued through her cries. "If I were faster… If I wasn't so self-absorbed in that damn game that morning… If only I could've kept her safe… She was"—she let out a sniffle—"unconscious when I found her… Still alive… I felt a pulse… But there was nothing I could've done! There was no way we could've stopped her from bleeding!"

"... It's not your fault, Noire. You did everything you could to keep her safe."

"I should have done more!"

"... You did your best. And there's nothing more Uni could've asked for…"

Letting a painful growl out through her gritted teeth, Noire shot her eyes up towards Purple Heart and pulled herself away from her chest to embrace her in a hug. "Nghh… N-Neptune!"

Her hug was unexpected. Purple Heart, taken off-guard, was pushed back on the bed. With Noire resting on top of her, she slowly adjusted her arms to embrace Noire back.

"It's alright, Noire… Let it all out…"

Bursting out in tears, Noire's embrace tightened. Wrapping one leg around that of Purple Heart, she took hold of her right hand.

For the longest time, Noire would weep in her friend's arms. She wasn't done until she completely exhausted herself, making herself lose conscious and fall in a deep slumber.

* * *

Compa let out a yawn as she walked through the halls of Planeptune's Basilicom. Carrying a paper bag filled with groceries, she made her way to the kitchen. It was rather late in the evening. The sun had long set and the night had begun.

When she spotted the door to Noire's room standing wide open, she decided to look inside.

In the darkened room on the bed, she spotted both Neptune and Noire sleeping peacefully with their arms wrapped around each other.

She slightly tilted her head, wondering how they ended up like this. But in the end, she could only smile. She wouldn't want anyone to disturb their peace.

Quietly closing the door behind her, the nurse put her bag on the floor and took a pink notebook from her pocket along with a pen and roll of tape.

Loosely scribbling something in the book, she tore the page out and hung it on the door with a piece of tape. ' _Do not disturb please 3_ '

Compa made a confident smile before she knelt down to pick up her groceries once more. She knew Noire had not been coping well with Uni's death. But seeing her and Neptune cuddle up like that made her confident that she would allow herself to let go of Uni.

And perhaps, out of this horrible loss, something new would blossom between her and Neptune.

* * *

 **Hey there. You made it to the end. Good going! There are a few things I wanted to address here, rather than at the start. Mostly because the start was already filled to the brim with the review responses… Write smaller reviews people! I mean, yes, I love your huge reviews, but my responses look messy when I respond to them! This is totally not my fault.**

 **First of all, I would like to say that I'll try to uphold a regular schedule again. So no more huge gaps between chapters. I know I've said it a few times before, but this time I promise. I wouldn't dare break a promise, now would I?**

 **Next up, I just want to give my boy Shaddic a brief shoutout. Neat author. Frequent reviewer of my story. If you like my work, consider giving his one of stories a chance.**

 **Further, we actually hit a milestone during the huge beak. 51 follows. Along with 10k views. That's probably not a big deal to some people, but those were my goals when I started writing… Like… from the start. As you can guess, the other milestone I have is 50 favs… I might deliver something special once we get there ;)**

 **Finally, in true fashion of this fic, when the author notes at the end are all a jumble, here's a spoiler for the next chapter. Pixie gained very little attention during this chapter. Mostly because of… well, Uni. Look forward to the next chapter, as I'll be revealing Pixie's clothing, her weapon and more of her personality. Not much of a spoiler, sure… But Osiris thinks otherwise.**


	20. Chapter 20 - PRESS START—Pixie

**Yup. We're finally back. A little sooner than I wanted, but stuff happened. And I was feeling generous. I wanted to have a stockpile of three chapters before uploading this one, but two and a half will do for now. Next chapter will be uploaded in two weeks. The one after that, if things go well, within two weeks from the next (assuming I can keep my schedule for once).**

 **So. Why did it take me so long to update? In short, a combination between lack of drive and that I consider these chapters rather dull compared to some of the other chapters… Especially Chapter 21. But hey. It's what needed to be done before we can get into the big stuff again.**

 **With that said, let's dive into the reviews… I already responded to these ages ago, but here's the public response:**

-Shadicgon: NepNowa won't be a focus in this story. In fact, I wouldn't say it's a ship here. There will be implications to it… But it's up to the reader (yes, you) to imagine what happens off-screen between these two.

-Anibi: This one's for you, bud. Shout out to this guy.

* * *

 **Chapter 20: PRESS START—Pixie**

"Is… Is this going to take much longer?" Pixie asked Geoffrey as he put her jacket on.

"Almost done, my little 'ongelukje'," he assured as he took a step back with his hand on his chin, looking the girl from top to bottom. After adjusting her coat one final time, he dusted her shoulders off and playfully booped her on the nose, to which she didn't react.

"There. An outfit similar to Rei, but not quite. Take a look!"

Geoffrey placed his hands on Pixie's upper arms and guided her to a full-body mirror. In the mirror stood a girl identical to herself. The black outfit she wore had a light cyan blue motif and consisted of a short, straight skirt and a jacket on top of a bleach white collared shirt. To top her outfit off, she had a short winter cape that didn't reach any further than down her shoulders.

As a final detail, she wore two hair pieces shaped like horns, bearing a striking resemblance to that of her sister.

Pixie's expression remained unchanged as she examined her mirror-image. Turning her back to the mirror as she looked over her shoulder, she inspected outfit all over.

"Neat, ain't it?" Geoffrey asked, stepping beside her with a satisfied grin. "You look just like an intern or some sexy secretary. Just like your sister!"

While this was true, Pixie felt like the outfit still held some form of uniqueness compared to that of her sister. For instance, she wasn't wearing any stockings, exposing her legs to the cold air around her. And while her big sister wore white boots, she wore black heels. Fortunately for her, the base of the heels were rather large, so she had no trouble balancing herself.

The girl looked herself over for another minute. The outfit felt tight around her skin. Perhaps a little too much so. But it was comfortable this way. It felt warm, while it still allowed her to move freely. If these were to be her casual clothes, she wouldn't have minded it in the slightest, even if they were a little formal.

"I like it…" Pixie shyly admitted. "It looks nice… and very cool…"

"Why, of course it does! I personally put it together just for you." Geoffrey silently admired the outfit a little longer before speaking up again. "... You look just precious in that outfit, kiddo. But… there's more stuff to do. Now, come with me. It's time to meet Linda at the armory. We have to find what kind of killing device would suit you."

Extending his hand out to the small girl, Geoffrey gave her a lopsided smile. She didn't accept instantly, though. Rather, she looked up at him. At first, she was rather scared of him. With his daunting top hat and five o'clock shadow, he gave off this rather dark aura. Not to mention those cruel eyes along with that everlasting grin. Her still-childish instincts told her on first sight this man was dangerous. That he could have pounced her at any moment he desired to swallow her whole, like a wolf jumping a sheep.

Indeed. He only _looked_ that way. She was confident of it. The man before her had no ill intentions.

With her new found trust in Geoffrey, Pixie allowed him to wrap his rugged hand around her rather delicate fingers. Together, they left the dressing room and headed down the hallway.

He might look scary. But he was the closest she had to something like a father. Even if she doesn't even know his name yet.

"... Your name?" Pixie asked.

"Hm? What was that?"

"Your name… What is it?"

Geoffrey stood frozen before finally facepalming. "Oh, how silly of me. I haven't even introduced myself yet… Generally you don't have to introduce yourself to newborns…"

As he held her hand, he guided her out of the room into the hall. "My name is Geoffrey Lucian Lance. But call Geoffrey. I'm your sister's right-hand man… That means that I'm the most important person around here... After your sister herself, of course."

Pixie kept staring at the man's happy face with intrigue. She didn't really understand much of what he said, but at least she now knew his name. "I see… And… The mouse-girl's name is… Linda?"

"Eyup!" He nodded. "She's my assistant. Real scary girl. But she's got a heart of gold… Stolen, probably. But you get what I mean."

Once again, she didn't really understand what he meant, but she wasn't going to question him.

When the two entered the armory, Pixie had to cover her eyes to prevent herself from being blinded by the bright light. When she peeled them open again, she got a clear view of the room.

The large room was filled with weapon racks that decorated the left side wall, along with a few tables and crates resting before those. In the middle was an open area with a few training dummies with a picture of a rather happy-looking girl with lilac hair plastered over its surface.

The mouse-girl, Linda, was in the middle of carrying a box filled with weapons. She put it on the steel table before her before sighing and wiping the sweat off her forehead. When she spotted the two of them, she nodded at them. "Took your damn time with those clothes, huh?"

Geoffrey rose his free hand before his face and waved sheepishly with his eyes closed. "What can I say? I put serious effort in the outfit… What do you think of it?"

Linda was still someone to be afraid of to Pixie. With that grey skin and blood red eyes, she didn't want this girl to come any closer to her. Or to let go of the man's hand. In fact, the moment she spotted her, the grasp on his hand tightened.

This did not go unnoticed. Geoffrey lowered himself to Pixie's ear and whispered:"Pixie, dear. Why don't you go and show Linda your new clothes?"

Pixie gave him a sour expression. "Because she's scary," she whispered back. "If I come close to her, she might eat me."

The moment those words left her mouth, Geoffrey spat out a brief chuckle. "Pff-ha! What? Naaah. Linda only looks scary. She wouldn't harm a-... err… Okay. Let me rephrase that. She wouldn't harm you as long as you're nice to her. C'mon. Let's go say hi to Linda together, okay?"

The firm grip the man held on her hand gave her no choice but to follow him to the scary-looking mouse-girl. When near enough, Linda looked down on her with her usual frown quietly.

"Go on… Say 'Hi, Linda' to mouse-girl," Geoffrey encouraged enthusiastically.

"H-... Hi… Lin-...-da…"

"... Hey there, little one," Linda greeted back, receiving a thumbs up from her boss. "You, uh… You doing okay or something?

"Yeah… I'm fine…"

Linda forced a smile at the response. When she slowly reached her hand out to her, Pixie looked rather fearful at her. She clenched her eyes shut and prayed to herself that the evil-looking mouse-girl wouldn't do her any harm. When she felt her gentle touch on the top of her head, ruffling her hair a little before letting go again, she slowly peeled her eyes open again.

"You're one hell of a sweet looking brat, you know that?" Linda mumbled, to which Pixie couldn't help but let her mouth fall slightly agape.

"... R-Right!" She responded. With that and the previous insurance from Geoffrey, Pixie's fears for Linda attempting to perhaps eat her faded like snow to the sun. As it turns out, Linda really only looked scary. Just like Geoffrey.

With a false cough, Geoffrey grabbed the attention of both girls. "Real sweet of you, Linda. Didn't think you had a soft side under that rugged persona of yours. But let's not forget why we're here."

Linda turned back to the box. "Right, right. No need to tell me, old timer. I already got you everything you asked for and then some."

Reaching into the box, Linda pulled out several weapons and spread them across the table. They ranged from simple swords, knives, clubs and boxing gloves, to a wide arrangement of firearms and bows, to a set of tomes and staves. They all were Gamindustrian standard weapons.

There was a moment of silence before Pixie finally reached out to grab one of the weapons, as the quiet stare from Geoffrey insinuated for her to do so. Starting with the handgun, she lifted it up in both hands and examined it. While Linda's eyes widened as she took a few steps back, Geoffrey smiled all too kindly at the curious girl, even if she had pointed the gun's barrel at him as she inspected the weapon.

"That's a gun, Pixie," the man explained with a cheerful tone. "It fires bullets!"

Pixie was still unsure what this oddly shaped weapon was supposed to be. Without realising it, she ran her finger over the trigger.

"Ah! Wait, don't pull the trig—"

Before Geoffrey could even finish his sentence, a loud bang resonating from the gun's chamber cut him off, startling Pixie to the point where she flinched and lost her grip on the weapon as her hands instead shot up to cover her ears. The ringing in her ears caused the room around her to spin.

Pixie was unsure what really had just happened. Of course, if she knew what a gun was, she would've known that she just shot Geoffrey in the stomach.

The man's eyes were wide as he stood frozen in place with one hand on the bullet hole. Linda's eyes followed the gun flying across the room before quickly returning her gaze to her boss. "D-Dude! You alright there?"

Geoffrey bit down on his lower lip as he sucked the air through his teeth. He spoke with a tone of agony behind his words. "No more guns for Pixie… That wasn't a Gamindustrian gun, by the way… That was a real, lead bullet piercing my bowels… Huegh… Agh… Bleeding… Bleeding… Lucy's bleeding!"

A Valkyrie made its way to Geoffrey and offered its hand to him. He looked at the soldier with that same shocked, yet pained expression before he tossed one of his arms over her shoulder and slowly slumped out of the armory with it, which would likely bring him to the infirmary next door.

"... I'm sure he'll be fine," Linda mumbled to herself. She turned back to Pixie, which was still trembling in fear with her hands on her ears and her eyes shut tight. Gazing back at the door Geoffrey left through, she sighed. "God damn it, I really don't want to play baby sitter."

She looked back the still trembling Pixie.

"Oh for the love of-... Are you seriously crying?"

Pixie didn't respond. She just stood there. Frozen like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "So… loud… and scary."

"Hey… Seriously… Stop whimpering already. It was just a gunshot, damn it."

Again, Pixie wasn't listening. Even after giving her a few weak pushes, she just wouldn't snap out of it. If Linda didn't know any better, she'd say there were a few tears streaming down her cheeks… In fact, there _were_ tears running down her cheeks.

The sight of the helpless girl caused something to snap inside Linda. And considering Geoffrey, the man that paid her to be 'nice' wasn't around anymore, there was nothing really stopping her from what she was about to do.

Grabbing the girl tightly by her wrist, she shook her a few times with a pissed expression. "Enough!" she bellowed, causing Pixie to cease her weeping.

Silently glaring at the girl, Linda made sure she would get the idea.

"You think anyone's gonna help you because you're crying like a brat? Think again, punk. Crying and whimpering won't do you any good. Take that from a street rat like me, kid."

"B-But… I thought you were nice, Linda…"

"That's _Miss_ Linda to you, worm."

Pixie visibly swallowed as she took an involuntary step back. "M-... Miss Linda…"

With her chin raised and a slightly less angry expression, Linda looked down at the girl. "Good… Now, quit your cryin' and get on trying more weapons. Unless you want to cry your enemies to death," she mocked, pushing a club in her hands. "Now go smash that dummy over there. The one with the stupid face of Planeptune's CPU on it."

And with that, after adjusting her grip on the club—rather poorly so—Pixie attempted to use the club, but was met with minimal success. Linda then shoved another weapon in her hands to try. The next minute, another weapon. Then another weapon. Then another. And another. And another. Until Pixie had completely depleted all possible options. As a matter of fact, Pixie was such a newbie that she was unable to handle any of the weapons she was given, even for a beginner.

The moment she attempted to cast any spell with a magical weapon, the weapon would either combust or implode on her, for some inexplicable reason. The many melee weapons she received were too heavy for her to carry. Even the daggers, which arguably were her best-handled weapons, just weren't fit for her. She lost her grip on them three times, nearly cutting herself every single time.

And last but not least, the ranged weapons. After having shot Tari's Oracle, she was extremely reluctant to pick up another firearm. Which left her with the bows to use… As one might have expected, her aim was beyond horrible as she somehow managed to miss her target by a long shot and instead hit a recovered Geoffrey with an arrow right to his knee as he walked back in. Like before, he had to be taken to the infirmary. After that, Pixie couldn't bring herself to touch any of the ranged weapons anymore.

With a look of defeat, Linda leaned back against the table with her arms folded and her eyes closed. "Yep. Just about what I expected. You're absolute trash with weapons."

"I-... I'm sorry… miss Linda," Pixie said with her head lowered and her hands on her lap.

The gray-skinned girl growled in annoyance. Her bloodshot eyes opened to look straight back at the Candidate. "Y'know what? Screw it. I'll go find you something that fits your incompetence…" She looked over at a Valkyrie standing near the exit. "Hey. You there, tin can. Get the twerp here to her room. The one your 'master' ordered you to get prepared."

The Valkyrie bowed with one hand on her chest. "Affirmative. Lady Pixie. Please, follow me."

* * *

Guided by the robotic soldier, Pixie walked after it with her head lowered. She carried the burning feeling of shame. To have been unable to handle any of the weapons Linda handpicked for her, as well as harm the one person she identified as a father-figure twice put a dent in what little pride she had.

She glanced up at the soldier walking before her. Its movements were robotic. Lifeless. If she held her breath and muted out the sound of their own footsteps, she could swear she heard a strange buzzing sound emitting from inside the soldier.

Or so she thought it was. As a matter of fact, the buzzing didn't emit from the soldier. Rather, it was something that came from all around her… It was everywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. And the longer she thought about it, the more it began to bother her.

"... Stop it…" Pixie quietly mumbled with one hand on her forehead.

The mechanical soldier stopped dead in its tracks. "Order received."

Obviously, Pixie didn't intend on giving the Valkyrie any orders. Yet, it listened to her without question.

"Can't you hear that… sound? The one hurting my ears…?"

The Valkyrie turned around. Her eyes shimmered and shined a few times before she responded. "Negative. No external noises have been detected."

No external noises detected… Of course, the young girl was unaware of what these words defined, but their meaning were not lost to her. That being that the soldier before her was unaware of the agonising sounds. Yet, there was clearly something there. Something disturbing. Something… supernatural.

' _Listen… to me.'_

"E-... Eh? Who said that?"

The small girl's eyes widened, darting around the empty hallway. She shot a look at the poker-faced Valkyrie twice, but it clearly wasn't the one that spoke to her.

' _Come closer'_

There is was again. A deep female voice that called out to her; it was intimidating yet alluring. Judging from the lack of response from the Valkyrie before her, it seemed that only she was able to hear the voice.

' _Come… Come… Follow… Follow...'_

The Valkyrie made a step towards the panicked Candidate. "Lady Pixie. I detect a form of distress in your stance. I request you allow me to bring you to your room."

It held its hand out with the palm open.

' _Order her… to stand down_ '

"W-What? What does that mean?"

Once more, the definition of the words was lost on her. And this time, she had no idea what meaning they could've beared.

The Valkyrie waited a few moments before taking initiative again. She tightly grabbed hold of Pixie's hand and lead her down the hall. Perhaps it was a little too forceful. Poor Pixie's hand felt like it was getting crushed under a rock.

' _Order her… to stop'_

The simpler words were enough for Pixie to understand the voice. "I-... I order you to stop?" she spoke with doubt.

"Affirmative." The soldier let go of her hand and froze on the spot. Pixie pulled her hand back the instant she was freed and rubbed it dearly. There were red markings on her wrist and the back of her hand thanks to the tight hold.

' _Yes… Yes… Come find_ _ **Osiris**_ _. Come… Come!'_

But there was no time to shed any tears. The voice called out to her once more. And this time, its tone was aggressive. Forceful. Hateful. The simple-minded child that was Tari's CPU Candidate couldn't resist its hypnotic charm any longer.

"W-... Where are you?"

Her vision became blurry and her breathing grew heavier. The hair on her cold skin rose up with the chill that ran up her spine. Even her heart started to beat more frequently.

' _Step forward, little one'_

Unaware of her surroundings, Pixie followed the voice. In her eyes, the hallway began to twist and lose its colour. The air around her felt colder, almost as if the very heat was being drawn from her body.

Before she knew it, she stood before a door and pulled the handle down. A dark toxic green mist filled her vision. She winced back before taking careful steps into the room. In the far back, a spec of neon green light guided her to her final destination.

' _Hold me, little one. Hold_ _ **Osiris**_ '

' _Come closer, precious one… Come… Meet_ _ **Osiris**_ _._ '

' _ **Osiris**_ … _has been waiting for someone as pure as you…'_

* * *

With a bit of a spring in his step, Geoffrey walked down the hall as he hummed an old song to himself. In his hands was a document with the words 'TOP SECRET—Operation: Unique Heist' folded open. He himself had written the document, but that didn't stop him from admiring it as he made his way back to his office.

Being in a rather good mood (despite the prior events), the man couldn't help but quietly sing the song that was on his mind out loud.

" _I need hero~. I'm holdin' out fora hero 'til the end of the niiiight~! He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast and he's gotta be fresh from the fi-ight~_ -Oomph! Huh?"

Due to his lack of attention, however, he bumped into an idle Valkyrie, which silently stood in the middle of the hall.

"Err… #6557. Explain to me what you are doing, please."

"Affirmative. Final order received: Stop. Assigned by Lady Pixie."

I see… And where exactly is my little Pix-Puppet now?"

The soldier turned 180 degrees and pointed at an open door. One Geoffrey was all too familiar with.

"Oh… Uhh. The storage room… Okay?"

Quickly storing the document under his hat, the man pushed the Valkyrie aside and made a beeline for the door. "Pixie? Hey, pretty Pix, you in here?"

He stood in the doorway of the darkened room with a questioning look. He searched for the light switch, tapping his hand along the wall. "Seriously, why did you go in here without turning the lights on," he mumbled.

When he found the light, he flicked it on. In the middle of the room stood an unharmed Pixie, holding that same indifferent look on her face.

"... Pixie? Are you-... Are you alright?" he asked as he stepped to her and lowered himself to her eye level with his hands on her shoulders. "Were you just standing here all by yourself in the dark for… uh… any real reason?"

"I'm fine…" Pixie responded. Her eyes moved down to her new necklace. "Look. I made a new friend."

"Friend?"

Sure enough, Pixie was wearing that same amulet Geoffrey had gained on the same day he took Uni's life: The Celestial Amulet. The soul carrier he had used for his unholy schemes.

"This is Osiris," Pixie introduced innocently. "She says she wants to massacre me, but I don't know what that word means."

Cold sweat ran down Geoffrey's back. "Uh. Pixie. Dear. Kiddo. Bucko. I don't think you should—" his hands slowly moved down to the amulet as he wanted to take it off, but Pixie shielded it from him by holding on to it and turning away from him.

"Osiris says I shouldn't let you touch her. And I don't want you to take her away from me… Osiris says funny things."

The man scratched behind his ear. "How can the soul of an ancient tyrannical CPU say anything that would be funny?"

Pixie smiled faintly. "She keeps asking 'why can't I possess you'. Possess is… a funny word."

Tari's Oracle's look grew even more worrisome. He took a breath before speaking. "So she's talking to you… But she says she wants to massacre and possess you… Buuuut she hasn't done that _yet_?

There was a short pause before Pixie nodded. But rather than look at Geoffrey, she turned her gaze to the amulet. "I can't tell him that. That's mean."

"Excuse me?"

Pixie looked up again. "Osiris wants me to insult you. But I don't want to… You're nice…"

The young Candidate then looked down at her amulet again and began to speak to it. "Osiris! I don't want to hit him on the head… And his hat isn't stupid."

With narrowed eyes, Geoffrey rose back to his feet as he adjusted his hat. "I don't think I like this Osiris person… But… Seriously, you're not going to hand it over?"

"Her… Osiris is a girl…"

"... So you're not going to hand _her_ over?"

Like before, Pixie held her hands on the amulet and turned away. "... No. I want to keep Osiris… She's… funny."

There was no way this could ever go well and Geoffrey knew it. This was guaranteed to go wrong. If you spelled 'wrong' in bold with red paint on the white streets of Planeptune. But perhaps, if Osiris is truly incapable of possessing Pixie like the Candidate claimed, then leaving her with the amulet wouldn't pose any harm to her.

Besides, she looked rather protective of it. And genuinely so. If this 'Osiris' had already overtaken her body, then certainly there should've been a shift in personality… That was how that works, right?

With hopeful eyes, Pixie looked up at the man. She was practically pleading for it now.

A deep sigh escaped Geoffrey's mouth. "Fine. You can keep her… for now. I don't care, anyway."

The lips of Pixie's mouth curved up into a weak smile. She took a step forward and hugged Geoffrey by his waist. "... Thank you… And… Osiris says ' _go to hell, Aubergine-man!_ ' That's a funny nickname.'"

At first, Geoffrey felt something warm at the pit of his stomach, but the final comment of Osiris converted this feeling to distasteful regret. "... This was a mistake, Old Sport," he spoke as he imitated a deep, new-york accent.

* * *

A few days after their exchange, Neptune and Noire had grown a lot closer to one another. Every day they would hang out with each other, occasionally going so far as to take each other on little outings that Noire still refused to classify as dates. They even started sharing secrets with each other—like Noire's 'secret' cosplaying hobby. And last but certainly not least, Neptune did what everyone else thought to be impossible. She began to willingly attend to her work... Albeit only when working together with Noire.

"Hey, Nowaaa," Neptune cried cheerfully. "What are you waiting for? C'mon! Bring that juicy, delicious, saucy stick of goodness to my lips so I can—"

"What the hell are you saying!?" Noire yelled with a wide blush. "I-... I'm just spoon feeding you pudding. Yeesh! Why do you have to phrase it like that?"

Currently, the two of them were seated right next to one another at the kitchen table. Neptune was on her way to take her midday break from the work she'd been doing with Noire when a brilliant idea sparked her interest. What if she got her bestest buddy Nowa to feed her like little Dogoo pup?

Of course, Noire had refused to comply with such an outlandish request at first, but this didn't stop Planeptune's CPU from giving her a teary-eyed look, practically begging for her to comply.

She had to vow to keep working as hard as she had been over the past few days (which arguably wasn't that much at all for normal standards), and only then would Noire accept. Neptune didn't even need to think twice.

Sticking her tongue out with one eye closed, Neptune giggled. "D'aww, c'mon. Where's your sense of humour? I was just kidding." She then opened her mouth wide, allowing Noire to give feed her a spoonful of her favourite pudding. As she closed her lips around the spoon with her eyes closed, she let out a pleasing moan.

As embarrassed as she may have been, Noire did find some joy in seeing Neptune this happy. And for once it wasn't because she was teasing the everloving heck out of her for being a loner.

Noire shifted her position on her seat and folded her arms. "Alright, that'll be all you're getting out of me."

"Eh? But we've only finished three cups!"

"That's exactly my point, you-..." She took a deep breath and swallowed her insult. Neptune just raised an eyebrow before she looked rather smugly.

"What, you feeling left out because I'm not feeding you in return?"

"What!? As if!"

"Nowaaa~. Be honest~."

"N-No! I _am_ being honest and I-... I-..."

"Hmm?" Neptune nudged Noire's side with her elbow.

"I-... I-..."

"Hmmmmmm?"

"..."

"..."

"M-... Maybe just one bite."

A sense of victory overcame Neptune as she pumped her fist into the air and grabbed a silver spoon. "Suh-weet!"

"B-But only this once, okay?"

Nodding excitingly, Neptune opened another cup of pudding and dug into the custard with her spoon. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. C'mon. Here comes an airplane~! _Aaaaaaaaa_ ~"

A look that could only be described as 'seriously?' clouded Noire's expression. But who could resist that bright smile of Neptune, holding a bite of her favourite pudding before your own mouth? For sure, it wasn't Noire, as she somewhat reluctantly began to part her dried lips and opened her mouth wide.

"A-... Aaaaa…?"

Neptune's smile extended from ear to ear as she slowly brought the spoon to Noire's mouth. Emphasis on slowly. Very slowly. Very… very… very slowly...

Until…

"Neptune!" Histoire cried, slamming the kitchen door open with all her tiny might.

"Bwah!"

Neptune's hands shot up into the air, catapulting the bite of custard straight to the Oracle of Planeptune. With a loud splat, the sugary gold masked Histoire's face.

The two CPUs stared at the tiny tome for an uncomfortable amount of time. Histoire floated there: frozen in her positions. The pudding began to obey gravity and started to slide down her face, revealing her frustrated expression.

After another long silence, Histoire wiped her face with her hands and spoke up. "I refuse to acknowledge any of these events." She cleared her throat. "Neptune! Noire! This is urgent!"

Noire got up from her seat. "Urgent? What is it?"

"It's the CPU of Tari. We just received a call from her. She's demanding our… help?"

Both Neptune and Noire looked at each other. The former shrugged while the latter sighed. Noire stood up. "I really don't like the sound of that. But… hey. We should at least hear her out."

Histoire nodded. "I also have a bad feeling about this. We should proceed with caution."

After Neptune had dropped her spoon, the two CPUs got up from their seats and headed to the living room.

" _The CPU of Tari. Rei Ryghts,_ " Noire thought. " _A complete psycho with a serious god complex. Whatever it is she wants, she's either up to something… or in serious trouble. Whichever it is, we won't give her anything without demanding for something serious in return!"_


	21. Chapter 21 - Role Model

**Hey peeps! Like promised, two weeks later, here's the next chapter! Already gonna say I'm a little behind schedule with the next chapter, so if that one doesn't pop up in two weeks, there you go… I am such a consistent author, aren't I?**

 **Anyway, no reviews to be had last chapter. Less for me to babble on about then, huh?**

 **So. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Role Model**

"..."

"..."

"... Why am I humiliating myself by even _considering_ asking these maggots for help?"

The CPU of Tari stood with her arms folded and her eyes closed, directly before an oversized monitor. It currently displayed the empty living room of Planeptune's Basilicom. A sight she would much rather not look at for too long… In fact, she would rather just end the whole ordeal and go do something else. Something less inherently mortifying.

Of course, she hadn't chosen to make this desperate call without a good reason. And a good reason indeed: what else could have possessed the prideful CPU of Tari, Rei Ryghts, to ask none other than her sworn enemies for help?

Well…

* * *

 **About one hour earlier**

It was an average day in the Basilicom of Tari. Linda was busy watching funny home videos on TV. Lance was in his office doing his job. Pixie wandered the halls, occasionally speaking with her new necklace: Osiris. And then there was Rei, who had been spying on her new little sister for the past half an hour.

She stood right around the corner, peeking from its side. For reasons she couldn't explain, she had the urge to watch her little sister. In fact, the thought of approaching her and striking a conversation did run through her mind once or twice.

But every time she thought about it, she shook her head and reminded herself that this 'sister' was likely someone that was going to betray her. Someone that, like everyone else, would end up turning her back on her… Right?

Though, even if Rei thought she was being sneaky, Pixie had spotted her the second she peeked the corner. She didn't acknowledge it because she figured her big sister was just looking out for her. How admirable!

What Rei didn't understand was Pixie's tendency to talk to herself. Even at night, whenever Rei would pass her door, she would be speaking to herself with that strange amulet in her hands.

Whoever she was speaking to, they were both obviously plotting her downfall. They just had to be!

Rather suddenly, Pixie rose from her seat and started to wander out of the room. With gritted teeth and narrowed eyes, Rei followed her as sneakily as possible.

She eventually reached the office that belonged to none other than Tari's Oracle. Without bothering to knock, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Rei decided to stay right around the corner.

"Aubergine-man!" Pixie greeted as she approached his desk.

Geoffrey hardly even looked up from his laptop. "Pixie, my little "Hija Indeasada", I'm working right now. Could you come back in, like, a few hours?"

The Candidate shook her head. "I'm bored. And I refuse to talk to Osiris… She said something mean to me…"

"Speaking of Osiris… You, uh… You don't feel any different from usual?"

Pixie looked rather confused. "Nuh-uh… I feel normal… I think…"

The Oracle eyed the green gem in the amulet a little bit. It was probably his imagination, but he could've sworn it calmly flashed at him; almost as if it tried to assure him it wouldn't try to do anything.

Geoffrey sighed and shrugged. "Alright then. I still don't trust it—"

"Her," Pixie corrected. "She's my friend…"

"... _Her_. But if she truly poses no threat to you, and if you consider her a friend, then why should I take her away from you? It's not like I risk you… dying or… something… Maybe."

Pixie's expression remained unchanged. And after a rather lengthy silence, she finally responded. "Osiris tells you to go kill yourself. But I want to thank you…"

Geoffrey cleared his throat with his eyes closed. "Just gonna ignore that first bit. Anway—" he opened his laptop again— "I'll have to get back to work. I'll see you at the dinner table. These Planeptune Morgue work schedules don't illegally acquire themselves."

With that, the man's eyes focused on the screen again. His fingers tapped away on the keyboard. With a stern look, he continued his work.

"... Aubergine-man?"

"Yes, Pixie?"

The prolonged silence from Pixie caused him to look up again. The Candidate then stretched her arm and pointed at his hat with her index finger. "I want a hat too."

The quiet gaze Geoffrey gave before speaking up again gave Rei enough time to ask herself why on Gamindustri Pixie would want a hat as stupid as his.

"Why would you want a hat as classy as mine?" Geoffrey asked.

As Pixie spoke, she walked around the desk and stood right next to the Oracle's chair. "Because… I think you are cool… and I want a hat… just as cool as yours…"

"Hmm… Well, alright then. I'll find something that fits your style."

Rather impulsively, Pixie grabbed on to his chair and rolled it back a little. After which she climbed onto his lap and sat down… This would probably be a little more reasonable, and far less scandalous, if Pixie, a child with the developed body of an fourteen-year-old, was a little younger-looking… Someone that age shouldn't sit on anyone's lap.

As the girl sat down, Geoffrey let out a grunt. "Nghh!? Pi-minus!? What are you doing?"

"... I want to sit on your lap… and Osiris told me that if I want something… I should take it…"

Geoffrey was unsure if he should put Osiris' influence to the question. Every time the Candidate brings her up, she would say something incredibly concerning. And, in reality, he wasn't exactly happy a child would just sit down on his lap like that. He was busy after all!

Geoffrey looked like he was torn between shoving her off and allowing her to take her seat. He then let out a defeated sigh and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"For this one time only, okay?"

The ultimate conclusion he drew was something among the lines of 'just comply and she'll be gone before you know it.'

A rather pathetic "yay" from Pixie indicated her hidden joy… or so Rei thought, because she didn't look particularly more joyful than she did before… In fact, Rei hadn't noticed it before, but there is a notable lack of emotions on Pixie's face at any given time. " _Does she have a disability or something!?_ " Rei thought. " _Smile! Or something! Anything! Try making an expression for once in your life!"_

"Hey. Pixie," the father-like Geoffrey began. "How about this. I'll hold you, you type what I say on the laptop before you? Fair?"

A short pause was held before Pixie nodded. Her hands were placed upon the keyboard and her eyes fixated on the screen.

"Excellent," Geoffrey murmured, clearing his throat right after. "Alright. First line: "Dear Number 0001. Comma. Prepare the weather balloons for operation Unique Heist… And prepare to extract all Valkyries from Lastation the day before the operation…"

At this point, Rei had stopped paying attention. In fact, she was fuming with anger. Her pupils had shrunk to tiny specs in her iris and her teeth were gnashed together.

" _That… That disgusting, twisted pedophile!_ " she thought. " _How dare he take my sister on his lap like that!? What's next? Is he going to kiss her? Then undress her and rape her!?"_

Tari's CPU's hands formed a pair of fists. To anyone else, these deductions would seem forced and impossible. In fact, deep down, even Rei herself could probably tell that her thoughts held no truth…

But, at the time, she was looking for a reason to just vent her anger at anyone...Even if she doesn't know what she was getting so worked up about.

With a loud stomp, Rei stepped into the office and pointed at the two of then, shouting "Oracle!"

"My Lady?"

"Big sis?"

She stomped forward and pushed Pixie off his lap, grabbing Geoffrey by his collar to lift him off his chair. "Worthless maggot. What do you think you are doing!?"

"W-Working?" was Geoffrey's nervous response."Y-Your little sister, L-Lady Pixie… She, uh… She wanted my attention and—"

Rei interrupted him by lifting him close to her face. His frightful look greatly concerned Pixie.

"All you do is talk, talk, talk, talk, talk and talk. You're like an annoying buzzing fly. And you should die like one!"

In her free hand, Rei summoned her sceptre and pushed the end against his throat. The man winced lightly upon feeling its cold touch.

If it weren't for Pixie vocalising her confusion, Rei might've just beheaded him for no good reason other than to lessen her bottled up frustrations.

"Oh... You think so, Osiris? Maybe we should ask… Big sis?"

Rei turned to her sis with the same livid expression. "What!"

"... Do you have any friends?"

Rei blinked twice before opening her mouth. "O-Of course I-... Why the hell are you asking me such a stupid question? Do you perhaps think I—"

"Who are your friends?" Pixie interrupted.

"W-Who are-... Uh… Well… The mouse-girl is.. a friend. And-..." She turned to Geoffrey and let go of his collar, causing him to fall back into his chair. "And this waste of space is my friend too!"

Geoffrey was about to say something but quickly played it off as if he were coughing.

Tari's Candidate alternated her eyes between the two. "... What's his name?"

"His name?" Rei repeated, receiving a confirming nod from Pixie. "His name… T-That's easy! I know his name! I've known it since we've known each other!"

As he adjusted his hat, Geoffrey started to catch on to Pixie's ploy. "My Lady… You know my name, don't you?"

"What did I just tell you!? I do know! It's-... It's…A-Aubergine-man…?"

The quiet, judging gazes from the both of them were incredibly uncomfortable. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Unfortunately, it was replaced by the quiet snickering from Geoffrey… which turned into uncontrollable laughter. Smacking his desk a few times, the Oracle fell out of his chair and dropped on the floor, holding his hands on his gut as he let all his laughter fill the room.

"Bwa-hahahaha! Aaaaah-hahaha! Ho-pff-kchh-haahahaaa! She doesn't even know my name! After one fucking year she doesn't- she doesn't even know my name is-, ahahaaaa!"

The colour on Rei's face was as red as a tomato. "S-... Shut up, shut up, shut up!" she bellowed.

In any other situation, Rei would've blasted the man with one of her stronger spells to teach him a lesson. But she didn't feel the anger she needed to do so… Rather, she felt an incredible burning shame in her gut. Even someone as psychotic as Rei knew that it was inexcusable to not even know someone's name after working over an entire year with them. It didn't mean she was willing to vocalise this, but she definitely knew it.

She turned to Pixie, which was deadpanning at her. Raising her index finger to point at Rei, she slowly said: "You are horrible and should feel horrible, maggot."

The words echoed in Rei's mind. Did she seriously just call her, her own older sister, the CPU of Tari, a maggot!? How dare she! Not to mention how badly she's humiliating her in front of her Oracle! This kid… She needs to be taught some respect!

A figurative vein mark popped on Rei's head. "Who. Taught you. To talk like that? Is it that worthless ant!? Oh, please tell me it's him."

Pixie gave the laughing man a quick look. She shook her head and once again pointed at her big sister. "You did… Are you proud of me?"

A long, procuring silence held between the two, only to be broken up by the extreme cries of joy from the Oracle.

Rei eventually let her jaw drop and pointed at herself. "M-...Me!?" She asked, receiving a meek "yes" from her sibling. "What are you talking about! I never insulted anyone for maggot, you worm!"

"... Oh. I see… Then… It's okay to call people worms, right?"

"Eh? N-No! Wait! That's—"

With a hand covering her mouth, Rei took a few steps back. Unable to cope with the situation any further, the CPU let her legs carry her out of the room at top speed. She ran down the corridor, past Linda—nearly knocking her off her feet—right to her own office. Slamming the door shut behind her, the CPU pushed her back against the wooden frame to make sure it would stay closed.

"What just happened?" Rei asked herself. "Why… Why did I run like that?"

* * *

And just like that, the CPU of Tari decided to seek aid. Of someone she knew well. Someone she knew had experience with younger siblings. It was a little inconvenient, but the only people she could think of were her sworn enemies.

Surely, they'd help her if she gave them compensation… Right?

Rei opened her eyes and gazed back at the screen. Still, there was no one in sight.

"Just how much longer are those dolts going to keep me waiting!?" she hissed through her gritted teeth.

" _N-Not for much longer!"_ the Oracle of Planeptune called as she came rushing on-screen along with two other girls: a girl with black hair and one with lilac hair.

"Finally," Rei murmured. "What the hell took you so long!?"

The tome raised her hands apologetically. "I-It has only been three minutes! Please! Forgive us for-... uh… taking so long?"

Shaking her head, Rei didn't want to linger with trivial matter. Rather, she would love to get to the issue at hand. "Enough excuses. Are these two the CPUs you were talking about?"

"Yep yep!" the smaller CPU with lilac hair chirped. "That's us, alright? This here is Noire, a totally popular girl with a ton of friends, which includes yours truly! I'm Neptune—the proud protagonist of this fic!"

"W-... What kind of introduction was that!?" the girl referred to as 'Noire' stammered. "Oh, forget it. What do you want from us?"

Holding a short silence, Rei inhaled through her nose. "I need your help with something important. I can't say what it is over the phone."

"You? You want _our_ help?" Noire asked with a tone of mockery. "That's rich. Why would we even consider helping our sworn enemy?

Neptune wrapped her arm around Noire's shoulders. "Oh, c'mon Noire. We can at least consider it, right?"

"I literally just said that she's our sworn enemy, Neptune! Why would we help her?"

Despicable. Sure, they are enemies. But what would happen if you don't help your enemy? Especially the one that has the upper hand on you?

A wicked smile formed on Rei's face. "Oh? So you won't help me? Well, I suppose I'll go and take a stroll through Planeptune and obliterate all of it while I'm there. That sounds like fun, doesn't it?"

Surely, that would get their attention! No CPU would allow their nation to be attacked like that… That was what Rei thought, at least.

Neptune gave a confident smile. "Heh. I see someone didn't go back to read chapter one of this fic after the long hiatus!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Rei questioned.

"Well, duh… It means you _can't_ attack us out of the blue. Because your Oracle signed a contract that clearly states Tari will stop attacking all of us out of the blue! The author made sure to write that bit in just so he could reuse it three times during this arc and then never again!... This is the first time!"

Rei rose an eyebrow. "He did? Wait. What author?"

"A-Ah! Yes…" Histoire confirmed. "Yes. It was… quite some time ago, but in trade, we would surrender full control of Planeptune to Tari… I-... I find it strange that we have not seen a difference in the way we rule our nation yet… And why we have not received a call about this contract after we freed the CPUs..." She rested her hands on her lap and looked down. "How peculiar."

"In other words, if you attack us, that would be a direct violation to those terms _you_ set," Noire butted in. She placed a hand on her hip and cocked a smile. "If we were to make such a treason public, I'm sure Tari's shares would take a big dive. Which would only work for our own advantage."

"T-That's-..."

The Cyan CPU felt herself being backed into a corner. Perhaps threatening her enemies for help wasn't the best idea she ever came up with.

Histoire sagely shook her head. "Hmm… That does sound like the turnaround we've been looking for… Perhaps we should… as much as it pains me to say, allow the CPU of Tari to attack our nation."

This was getting messy. Now they were the ones humiliating her for not knowing such an obvious point.

On impulse, she offered something she would quickly come to regret. "I'll release one of the CPU's my Oracle captured if you help me!"

While she quickly covered her mouth, everyone on the screen turned to look at Rei again. Everyone's attention was once again focused on the CPU of Tari.

"What?" was Neptune's initial response.

"... I'll… I'll order my Oracle to release a CPU!" she stammered. "In return, I demand that one of you comes over to meet me in Tari…"

"I dunno—" Neptune began before Noire cut her off.

"Make it two CPUs and we'll see what we can do."

"Very well…." Rei instantly responded. This was a good deal, right? One extra ant in the mix wouldn't make a difference anyway. Whether you crush a million or a million and one under your boot, the result would be the same… And messy.

"We require a little more time to discuss this deal amongst ourselves… We'll call you back when we have come to an agreement."

"You better not keep me waiting for too long… Or else!" With that final threat, Rei quickly ended the call and sighed.

"... I-... I think I did well," she quietly spoke. "They'll help me set things straight… I hope…"

* * *

As the screen faded to black, Noire, Neptune and Histoire each looked at each other. Each of them came to the same conclusion and used their silent gazes to convey each other.

"This is a trap," Noire finally stated. "It has to be. There's no way that 'Oracle' didn't set his CPU up for this."

Histoire sighed. "I agree. I'm afraid that if we send either of you two over to Tari, neither of you would return safely."

Neptune placed her index finger on her chin and hummed loudly. "Hmmmmm. Well, *we* don't have to go, do we? I mean, we could just send someone else in our place, right?"

Noire gazed out of the window and gave her idea some thought. She rose a good point. Geoffrey was likely trying to add another CPU to his collection. Or rather, he was trying to recapture each of them. So sending anyone else would be a safer alternative.

There was but one problem.

"Yeah… But who else could we send?" Lastation's CPU questioned, asking the obvious question.

Right then, Toby and Lithyum walked into the living room, the latter tightly clinging onto the former's arm while nuzzling it with her cheek.

"Heheheh… Toby~" Lithyum dreamily spoke as she and her 'boyfriend' sat down on the couch. How odd. Noire was certain that Lithyum was the one to reject Toby's confession… or so Blanc told her, anyway… Then again, she barely knew either of them, so maybe she just misunderstood Blanc.

Although, if Toby rolling his eyes and sighing with a tone off annoyance behind it wasn't enough to convince her that he and Lithyum are not in a relation, then the fact that he tried to pull himself free from her grasp certainly would have been.

"Yeah, yeah," Toby said. "Just-... We're here. Now go take that nap like you wanted to."

"Okaaay!"

Stretching her arms and yawning loudly, the small girl laid her head on Toby's lap. The teen just sighed and took a journal out of his hammerspace.

"Now... Let's read the rest of what happened back then," he quietly mumbled to himself.

* * *

 **Descension and Ascension [Part 2]**

' _How much time had passed since we entered these cursed Ruins? How many steps had we taken and how much ice has cracked under our feet because of it?_ '

The duo of Geoffrey and Lilith slowly slumped through the frozen caverns. The concept of time was lost on the both of them. Days, or perhaps weeks, of spending your time in hell would do that to anyone.

Geoffrey quietly took out the improvised map they had drawn and—

* * *

"Original character number four thousand sixty-nine!"

"H-Huh!?"

Toby looked up from the journal with his eyebrows raised. He instantly shot back as Neptune's nose was but an inch away from his own. "W-What the-... Neptune!?"

"'Sup?" Neptune greeted, popping the p loudly.

"U-Uhhh! H-Hey… So… Uh… If you're wondering why I'm here… Lithyum… My friend, she, uh… wanted to take a nap. And her house is kind of on the other side of the city, so—"

"Never mind that," Noire suddenly spoke. Judging from Toby's reaction, he wasn't even aware either she or Histoire were there. "Toby. We've got another errand for you."

"No," Toby instantly responded, pocketing Lilith's journal as he did.

"Excuse me?"

"I said no," he repeated. "I've had enough of running errands for all of you… Seriously! You don't need me to kill twenty Dogoo's for you, Noire! You can do that yourself!"

The sudden outburst caught Noire off-guard. Where did this come from all of the sudden? Wait. Was that a bad thing? The fact that she let him do all the work on the quests they did together? Didn't he want to get stronger? And… wasn't this the best way of doing so? To have him train while she supervised him?

Noire shook her head. She was probably jumping the gun. "I have no idea what you are going on about, but that's not what I was going to ask you."

"The answer is still no," Toby stated, deadpanning at the CPU. "And that's final."

"Toby," Histoire quietly began. "Will you at least consider listening to her? This is rather important."

Running his eyes between each girl before him, Toby ultimately waved his hand in resignation and gestured for her to continue.

Histoire smiled kindly. "Thank you…"

Clearing her throat, Noire began her explanation. It was short, to the point, and came down to sending Toby on a suicide mission… Frankly, her explanation was rather poor. It took Histoire half an hour to convince Toby that, even if this was a trap, his life would not be at risk.

"Okay. So. Let me get this straight," Toby recapped with his eyes closed and arms folded. "Basically, you're sending me back to Tari to go and see why the CPU, Rei Ryghts, would be so desperate to call for our help? And if we help her, she'll free two of the five CPUs she still has captured, right?"

"Exposition at its finest!" Neptune said a little too happily. "That's all you have to do. Any questions, Private Orange?"

'Private Orange' rose two fingers. "I got two. First: if things do go sour, please tell me someone will come and bail me out. I don't think I can outrun an angry Goddess."

"You've got our numbers, right?" Noire asked. "Just give us a call and one of us will come and pick you up as soon as we can."

"Sounds about fair… Alright. Second: what am I getting out of this? Like… What's my payment?"

Noire tilted her head and furrowed her brow. "Payment? What do you mean?"

"You don't expect me to do this for free, right?" He shrugged. "In case you missed the memo, I long stopped being some 'hero for fun'. I also joined the bunch of you to Anarchy Arena for something in return. So why would I do this for free?"

"Oh! I know!" Neptune reached into her pocket and pulled out a coupon. "Here you go! A discount ticket for my favourite pudding at my favourite pudding store!"

Toby took the ticket between his index finger and thumb and read it. "... It's expired…"

The CPU of Planeptune offered him a broken smile. "W-Well… I-It's all I got… I spent all my allowance already…"

Noire rose an eyebrow. "You… You get an allowance… Histoire gives you an allowance?"

The tiny tome sighed. "We do not allow Neptune to use the national budget for her own leisures… We've learnt as much from the last time… In any case,Toby, how about an actual sum of credits instead?" Histoire offered instead.

"... I'm listening."

"Well...Considering the potential danger… Does ten-thousand credits sound like a reasonable offer?"

"Double it and add a zero and we've got a deal."

"Nep-what!?" Neptune cried with widened eyes. "But that's… like… one-hundred times what Histy offered!"

"Twenty times, actually," Toby bluntly corrected. "If you ask me, that's no money at all. It should be just about enough to buy me an actual place to live…" He quietly added the final part.

Histoire was hesitant, but after considering carefully, she chose to comply. "Very well. Upon your successful return, you will be credited with a lump sum of two hundred thousand Credits."

That gleeful smile and act of rubbing his hands together as if he were a successful businessman rubbed Noire the wrong way.

"Neat!" Toby said. "Lithyum and I will be sure to head over there tomorrow." The teen then shook the girl on his lap awake. "Hey. Lithyum. C'mon. You had your power nap. Let's go home."

The small girl murmured something in her sleep and clinged on to Toby's waist with a perverted smile. "Eheheh…"

"H-Hey… Wake up!... Oh, forget it." He lifted Lithyum up into his arms and carried her out of the room. "Remember. We're heading out tomorrow at sunrise! Be sure to tell Rei we're coming!"

The trio waited a little longer before speaking up once more. When they heard the doors of the elevator come to a close, Noire was the first to speak up. "When did he get so greedy? What's wrong with him!?"

"It's… complicated, Noire," Histoire responded softly. "Please. Don't hold it against him…"

"Yeah! Forget about that stuff!" Neptune laughed as she took a hold of Noire's hand. "C'mon, Nowa~! Let's go back to spoon feeding my favourite CPU!"

"W-Whoa! Hey! No need to drag me along! Neptune!"

And just like that, Histoire was left all by herself. She hovered over to the window and gazed out of it. She could see a spec of Tari's light shine weakly, just barely visible on the horizon. She laid her hand on the glass and closed her eyes. "I pray to the Original Goddess for your safe return… Tobias."

* * *

 **Look at that. Another chapter came to a close. Anyway, two things. As stated in the previous chapter, I found this one a little laborious to write, so I spiced it up with a few little peeks of the future… Maybe a little too much.**

 **I also want to partially apologise for the denial on the next part of [Descension and Ascension]. Sorry I'm not sorry!**

 **Until next time!**


	22. Chapter 22 - A Cute Psycho

**Not quite two weeks, but I'll take it…**

 **Hey peeps. Just wanted to take this time to say that we did it! We hit 50 favs… and then some! Man, the story boomed in popularity of that break.**

 **Anyway, I did promise I'd do something special once we hit the big number… but I didn't expect to hit it for another… 8 chapters… err…**

 **So, for now, I did do something 'special'. I went back and cleaned up a few old chapters. Considering the course of the story started to change and I write this fic to be read twice to have two whole different experiences, it had to be done. I also wrote something else for those devote Ruination fans. It's here for a limited time, so enjoy it while you can.**

 **For the real 50 favs special, there's a poll on my profile…. Pick your favourite OC, peeps. Let's say something special will happen to them at some point.**

MrShrimppaste: That's a bunch of reviews you wrote… Whew. I responded to most of them in the PM I gave you, but for the public, here's one I can acknowledge. Neither Geoffrey nor Toby are the main characters.

Far0z: One of the best in the fandom. Whew. That's a pretty high bar to set. Thank you very much for your kind words, though. Hearing someone like the story this much feels pretty good. Heck, hearing someone like our Aubergine-man feels great as well... Before I devolve to some sort of broken record, let's end that bit.

Rei's interactions with Toby? Well, you are about to find out. Hope I live up to your expectations.

* * *

 **Chapter 22: A Cute Psycho**

After the brief exchange at Planeptune's Basilicom, Toby carried his friend Lithyum back to her apartment, where she almost immediately fell back asleep again… Sure, it was rather late in the afternoon, but it was still far too early to be hitting the hay for the night. Oddly enough, she managed to sleep through the entire night and morning.

When she awoke, Toby had to explain what had transpired between him and the others. Consider he had to take her with him, he was hoping she would oblige… He was met with a surprising response, however.

"But I don't want to go to Tari again!" Lithyum cried with teary eyes, gazing up at Toby. He shook his head with his hands on his sides. Taking a deep breath, he responded. "Look, we'll just go over there, see what the problem is and get out again. It won't take long. I promise."

Lithyum grabbed her fluffy twintails and pulled them over her ears. "But I don't want to go to Tari again!"

"Lithyum, please… I don't want to go alone either. C'mon. Do it for your best buddy. The Orange Outplay!"

"But I don't want to go to Tari again~!" she repeated sadly.

Folding his arms and tilting his head slightly, Toby gazed down at the small girl in question. "Any reason you don't want to tag along?"

"Guhh… I just don't wanna… I ran into creepy people last time I went there…"

Toby groaned loudly. With the way she was dressed, of course some creepy lolicons would try and take advantage of her. "Alright, alright, I get it. I guess I'll go all by myself while you stay home where there are no psychopaths that might try to kill you." The tone in his voice was a mixture of condescending and annoyance.

"Guhhh… I reaaaally—"

"—Don't wanna go to Tari," Toby finished. "It's fine, Lithyum. It really is."

The teen got up from his seat and headed to the front door of Lithyum's apartment. "Well… I guess I'll head off all by my lonesome self then… I'll catch you later, Lithyum."

With the door closed behind him, the teen put his hands in his pockets and climbed down the stairs. " _Jeesh. How the hell am I supposed to deal with this stuff on my own?_ " He thought. " _If this is a trap, I'm straight up screwed. As if I'd put my trust into Nep and the bunch of them… I mean, at this point I don't dislike them, but I can't say I'm entirely confident in them either."_

He stepped outside and sighed loudly, looking up at the rising morning sun on the horizon. " _I was gonna treat Lithyum to breakfast on the way there too… Guess I'm gonna have to get some on my own then…_ "

His eyes moved over to his left and he began walking into the same direction. After two steps, the sound of someone clearing their throat caused him to turn around.

There, leaning back against her bike, stood IF. It seemed like she had been waiting on him.

Toby's frown lightened up when he saw her. "Oh. IF. Good, uhh… Good morning."

In response, the brunette nodded once and got up. "Morning, Toby," she greeted as she walked to him. "I heard Nep and the others are sending you to Tari to investigate a problem regarding its CPU."

"Yeah… They didn't wanna risk themselves, so I'll be the Joan of Arc of Gamindustri…"

The joke went right over IF's head. "Right… Are you leaving alone? I figured Lithyum would come and join you."

"Lithyum's response was 'I don't wanna go to Tari' so I'm basically going on my own." He turned his head and side-eyed IF. For a moment, he thought she was going to offer to tag along in her stead. But that couldn't be it, right?

The Guild agent offered a broken smile. "Can't have you going alone, now can we? Want me to come with?"

And just like that, Toby's expectations were proven right. Even if he was but a little skeptical about her intentions. "Wait. So… You're tagging along for me or…?"

The reason why he felt so unsure about her coming along was because he thought that she might be doing it because she doesn't trust him to handle the issue on his own. But on the other hand, he knew that perhaps his distrust in IF was misplaced. After all, she already told him he has earned her recognition. In the end, this might have been a case of just wanting to hear her say it once more.

"You want to face a CPU as crazy as Rei on your own?" she asked in a light tone. "Not to mention the crazy Oracle and his underling. Like hell you are going there by yourself. Even I wouldn't want to go there alone."

A short silence followed before Toby ultimately spoke. "Thank you, IF."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Let's get going, alright?" She rose her hand up. "Put 'em there, Toby."

IF stood ready to receive a high five from Toby. When he tried to return the gesture something rather odd happened. Rather than slap her hand, Toby proceeded to ball a fist and fistbump the palm of her hand. It looked just as awkward as it sounds.

"Ah-…"

"Err…"

Slowly, IF's fingers curled around Toby's fist while she kept eye contact with him. A thousand questions were being asked with that single look. Only one of them was vocalised.

"Why?" IF asked.

The teen drew his hand back out of embarrassment and impulsively tried coming up with an excuse. "W-Well I thought-... You were gonna give me a fist bump, I thought!"

"My hand is-... it's up here! That's a high five. I even had my hand open."

"Yeah, but fist bumps are just-... They're hip with the kids, okay!? Everyone's doing them nowadays, so I thought—"

"Toby, you're not a kid anymore."

"I'm seventeen! Shut it, old timer! I'm still young!"

The two of them mounted IF's bike and continued their heated argument. "Old timer? What the hell are you even going on about!? I'm only a couple months older than you!"

"Then you should've known that fist bumps are the big trend nowadays!"

"As if high fives are so lame… Heck, what's wrong with high fives anyway?"

Even as IF revved her engine and started to ride down the street, the two of them continued to argue about high fives and fist bumps… Neither of them really understood why they were trying so hard to defend their standpoint, but here they were… In a heated argument about fist bumps and high fives that would last perhaps a little too long.

* * *

"Alright, alright," Toby began. "Follow my train of thought. Scissors beats paper. Rock beats paper. And considering paper lost to scissor, that means that rock also wins against papers. Which means fist bump is greater than high five."

The brunette's prolonged silence gave Toby a sense of victory. But her silence wasn't one of defeat. It was one of complete confusion. "That doesn't even make sense! Paper beats rock in that game!"

"Yeah, but… Can we just pretend this sounded right?"

IF sighed loudly. "Forget it. We're here."

The bike came to a stop before what Toby presumed to be Tari's Basilicom… Emphasis on presumed. It was nothing like Planeptune's, to say the least.

The building before them stood out from its surroundings like a sore thumb. While the nation's usual buildings were square in shape and had many neon lights attached to them, the building before them was a large, dark and creepy castle with at least four massive towers. Through the iron gate, Toby could see a few of the lead stained windows, which were massive in size and portrayed something or someone, though he wasn't sure what exactly, given his point of view.

The teen got off the bike and took a few steps to the gate. "This place… It's…"

"Yeah. It's dumb," IF finished. "A castle in the middle of a neon city? Whoever came up with that idea's an idiot."

Toby chuckled. "Don't say it too loud. If someone like Rei hears you… Do I even need to finish that sentence?"

And speak of the devil. Just as Toby was done talking, he noticed the non-HDD form of the CPU of Tari was walking straight at the both of them on the other side of the gate—Two Valkyries followed closely behind her. Eyes narrowed and arms folded, she didn't look happy in the least.

"... Err. IF." He turned to face the girl. "She knew we were coming, right?"

IF gazed over towards Rei. "She-... knew to look out for a guy in orange… That's all…"

The woman gave off a menacing aura. She walked gracefully, as if she were walking on eggshells, yet every step she took felt powerful. And with fury dominating her expression, Toby began having second thoughts.

His face drained of blood, he had a sudden realisation. " _Why do I keep accepting life-threatening mission so easily? Why don't I think twice about this stuff? Toby, you nearly died at Anarchy Arena. You should've at least realised that Rei here might very well kill you on the spot for something as small as not calling her_ _Lord_ _Rei… Is it too late to run away!?_ "

The menacing CPU came closer and closer while Toby stood frozen in her gaze, watching her with much uncertainty. It was far too late to go back now.

"So…" IF cleared her throat. "I'm just gonna park my bike. You'll be fine on your own for a bit, right?"

"Uhh… No? Help! Please!" was what Toby wanted to say. Instead, he just nodded and waved her off without saying a word. He was a little too afraid to say anything, as Rei might've heard him if he did.

"Alright then. I'll see you in a bit," IF spoke, revving her engine once. "Oh. And Toby…"

"Hm?"

The teen turned to face IF, which was holding her fist up. "Put 'em there."

He blinked twice before balling a fist. "Oh. Uhh… Sure."

His fist but an inch away from her hand, IF quickly opened her hand up and instead let him fist bump the palm of her hand again, much like before. Her smirk grew twice in size when she let go of his hand. "Don't get killed, Orange."

Toby watched IF drive off with a big smile. "God… damn it, IF…" he chuckled.

That little prank did help ease his mind a little. Something he desperately needed, because Rei finally stood close to the other side of the gate. "Hey! You!" she called. "Are you the orange runt the inferior CPUs were sending over to help me out?"

Toby took a breath and responded. "Y-Yeah. That's me. Tobias Karston."

Even if there were iron bars between the two of them, which he was extremely thankful for, it had to be said that her glare was enough to burn a hole through his chest. With that same glare, she examined him from head to toe. "Hey… I know you! You're that orange loser from Anarchy Arena!"

"T-That'd be me, yeah…" For once, he decided it'd be better not to bark back at the sleeping bear. "It's an, uhh, honour to be here, Lady Cyan Heart."

As unimpressed as she was, Rei tisked dismissively. "Oh, what the hell… Is this a joke? Am I a joke to them!? Why would they send me someone as incompetent as… w-whatever you are! Get out of here. Before I crush you like the orange ant you are!"

"H-... Hey now… At least give me a chance, Lady Cyan Heart. The CPUs of the other nations trusted me to handle this problem for you, so… Uh… Please give me a chance?"

"And what if I refuse?" she snarled back. "Then what, hmmm?"

Wasn't it obvious what would happen if she refused? "Then… you… uh… don't have anyone to help you solve whatever problem you have?" he slowly answered. "I mean, if it's something I can't handle, I can always just… go back and get someone that can help you…"

The two of them silently stared at each other. Toby was already mentally writing his will. The way Rei was looking at him spelt death for him. Much to his surprise, she dropped her frown and sighed. "Very well…"

"Eh?"

With a snap of her fingers, the iron gate rose. "Follow me," the CPU commanded. I don't want anyone listening in on us."

That went surprisingly well. Today is just one surprise after the other.

* * *

The interior of the castle is much like you expect it to be. Dark… With a bit of a taste for an old European castle from medieval times. Walls of stone accompanied by a cyan carpet. A truly (not at all) welcoming place. It should be mentioned that, contrary to the castle-esq design, there is a crazy amount of steel, wires and lights of various machines just scattered across the entire Basilicom. The place felt like it belonged to some mad scientist.

It should also be mentioned that the number of Valkyries, each looking like Lilith Belrose, is through the roof. Guards. Gardener. Cooks. Cleaners. The entire staff had been replaced with the robotic forces.

On an unrelated note, the gardeners seem to be struggling with an infestation of flowers all around the Basilicom. Toby wondered for a moment why there were so many flowers in Gamindustri, anyway, but paid it not much mind beyond that… Though, he did make a mental note of the fact that nearly all of Tari was suffering from the same problem. Infestation at its finest, perhaps?

"We're here," Rei called. She waved her hand, signalling the two Valkyries that had been following her to open the massive double doors that lead to her room. As expected, her room alone was at least thrice as big as Toby's entire apartment. Even the bed with its lush cyan covers may very well as big as his entire apartment.

The CPU silently walked into the room, allowing Toby to follow her… after admiring the behemoth of a room that was her bedroom, of course. " _I'm not envious… I'm not!"_ he thought.

As Rei sat down on the foot-end of her bed, the double doors came to a close with a loud thud behind Toby. It made him wince slightly, but not noticeably so. Because neither Valkyrie chose to follow them into the room, he and Rei were all alone now. There were no visible prying eyes, so the woman could finally state what the pressing issue had been all this time.

A prolonged silence… Rei simply sat on her bed with her arms folded, glaring at Toby angrily. He was sure she would speak up eventually, because his mother always taught him not to speak unless spoken to… But after nearly ten minutes had passed, maybe she was waiting for him to engage.

"E-... Err… Lady Cya—"

"Silence!" She cried.

"O-o-okay…"

Another five minutes passed before Toby felt like trying again. The second he even opened his mouth, the woman's eyebrows rose threateningly, which caused him to just swallow whatever he was going to say. This process repeated itself four times before Toby finally built the courage to say something, regardless of Rei's reaction. "So why am I here?"

A silent glare… Something Toby was getting accustomed to by now.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you, kid."

" _Yeah, that's… I've been standing here waiting for you to kill me for too long now,_ " he thought with an apathetic expression. " _That's not gonna get me anymore._ "

Rather than respond to her threat, he chose to say something a little more productive. "... Monster infestation? Big loss in shares? Internal conflict?"

With each option, Rei shook her head slowly. "It's… something a _little_ more personal…"

"Personal...? How personal are we talking? Like… 'Someone stole your bike for the money' personal or 'someone stole your bike because it's your bike' personal?"

"... The latter…"

"O-oh…. I see… Well…" He rubbed his arm and looked the other way. "Man, she's awkward to talk to," he silently complained before clearing his throat. "Go on…"

The woman bit the corners of her mouth and gazed up at Toby angrily. "It's-… I need help."

"That you do…" Toby bluntly commented.

"..."

"..."

"I _really_ … need help…"

"Yep… You-... You told me already…"

Even if he was still a little nervous, all of Toby's fears had faded like snow to the sun. He had a gut feeling this Rei was all bark and no bite.

Finally, after what Toby presumed was a long argument with herself, Rei spoke up and began explaining the situation… Sort of. "I need help… with-...Err… Well…"

Another pause… and that was the final drop. "Just… Say it." Toby groaned, but quickly remembered his place. "Please. I truly… wish to help you, Lady Cyan Heart… But I need to know—"

"S-Shut up! I'm-... This is hard, okay!"

"... No it isn't… All you have to do is say it. Here. "Tobias. My problem is…" He gestured for her to finish his sentence.

"T-Tsk… Don't you tell me what to do!"

Another sigh escaped Rei's lips before she nodded once, looking Toby dead in the eyes.

T-Tobias… My-... problem isss… err… that… I, uh..." Lowering her voice to nearly inaudible tones, she finally spilled the beans. "I don't know how to talk to the people around here."

A long, uneasy silence followed. The teen just gazed at her unflinchingly. It took his brain a few seconds to process the rather simple issue. Finally, Toby narrowed his eyes and spoke his mind. "...What?"

"I-... I said I have no idea how to talk to the people around me…"

And thus, Toby sagged his shoulders, blinked twice and realised he had nothing to fear anymore. "You have no idea how to talk to the people around you? How does that… even work...?"

Meanwhile, Rei had her fists clenched and was gnashing her teeth. "Grrrr…. See! I told you! I told you that you were going to laugh at me!" Summoning her sceptre, she aimed it at Toby, firing an energy attack that missed his head by a hair."

"Ah! Jesus!" Toby exclaimed a second after it hit the wall behind him. "No! Rei! For the love-... Chill! Calm down!"

"Then stop laughing! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

"I'm not laughing at you! Heck, I'm not even laughing, man! Here. I'll just… I'll prove it to you, Lady Cyan Heart." Toby got on one knee, gazed up at Rei with his hands clasped together and spoke in the most humble tone he could put up. "Lady Cyan Heart, I hereby promise to help you befriend everyone in the Basilicom." He raised one hand and put the other on his heart. "You have my word as an honourable man."

It was a bit of a shot in the dark, and it really put a bad taste in his mouth—Toby has never been one to act humble, after all—but this was the only way to get through to someone as psychotic as Rei. Giving them an extra dose of sympathy and a promise that you're going to help them.

Or so he hoped. Toby gazed at Rei with the most serious face he could make. Did it work?

Still pointing her weapon forward, her expression seemed to somewhat lighten up a little. At least she wasn't frowning anymore. "Y-... You're not looking down on me for… this?"

"Not at all. If anything, I'm looking up to you for opening up on something like this. Truly admirable!" He quietly added sarcastically. "And I don't want to vomit because of all the false praise I've got to give."

Her eyes finally seemed to have lost all forms of rage. That psychotic gaze was finally replaced with something akin to a slight grimace. "I-... see…. Then… Could you please help me?"

"It would be my pleasure…" Toby said as he stood back up. "So? Who _exactly_ are you trying to impress here?"

"Well… First of all, my Oracle. Then my little sister and the mouse-girl with—"

"Wait, sister?" Toby interrupted. He gave Rei a questioning look, which she replied to with a slow nod.

"Yes. As of late, I've got a sister… I'm… not too sure if I'm happy with her. In fact, I'm pretty sure she's trying to kill me."

Deadpanning as he spoke, Toby disagreed. "Wha-? No. Just… No. Why would your own newborn sister try to-... Ah. Forget it…"

" _We'll work on that as we go,_ " he thought. " _But dang… Tari has a CPU Candidate now… That's so cool! Heck! I'm getting excited just thinking about that one… Not just excited. Pumped! This feeling… Man, I'm feeling just as pumped as back when I would first meet Neptune… What a disappointment that one was..._ "

After loudly clearing his throat, Toby continued. "Alright, Lady Cyan Heart. If you're trying to impress those people, then what's the main problem? Do you know how to approach them?"

She shook her with a sad frown.

"Do you know anything you could talk about with them?"

She echoed her last response.

"Okay. Please tell me you at least know their names," he said in a condescending tone. While this was mostly a joke, Toby didn't expect her to shake her head yet again.

"I don't… Is that… bad?"

"Yes," was what Toby wanted to say. His mouth already open, he bit his tongue and cleared his throat. "There's…our first step then. You may have already known them for a year… but better late than never."

At least now he had something to work with. Toby felt incredibly unsure about being able to help at first. This, however, seemed like something he could handle…

Breathing in through his nose, the teen mustered the most neutral smile he could. "Alright, Lady Cyan Heart. I'll help you." He walked up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "You have to promise me one little thing though."

"A promise? What is it?"

"Whatever I say or do, I'm just trying to help"—He bit the side of his mouth—"so don't angry and try to kill me, okay?"

"Eh? Ehhh!? How dare you! How dare you talk to me like that, you piece of worthless—"

Toby held his hand out to her, silently gesturing 'this is exactly what I meant.' After proving his point, Rei laid her hands on her lap and lowered her head in a docile manner. "I understand…"

" _And that is how Tobias Karston tamed Rei Ryghts,_ " the smirking teen thought before wiping that dumb grin off his face. Rather than laugh at his success alone, he held his hand out in Rei's vision. The woman was slow to notice. A questioning look clouded her face as she gazed up.

"To our new collaboration," Toby clarified with a hospital smile to which the CPU reacted to with by shaking his hand rather meekly. "T-... To our new collaboration!"

* * *

With the sun set at noon and the thin clouds covering the skies, IF casually walked back to Tari's Basilicom with her phone in hand. Texting while walking is pretty dangerous, sure. But this is IF we're talking about… She'd risk walking into a lamppost if she could just use her phone for business.

Of course, because of how busy Tari's streets tend to be, she already bumped into someone about eight times by now. And yet she failed to learn her lesson.

She gazed up from her phone. The Basilicom was still about a block away. For a moment she wondered if Toby was alright… and that she should probably send him a text, just to be sure it's safe to go on and ring the bell.

As she wrote her message, a familiar voice caught her ear.

"—and then she called me 'Aubergine-man' and I totally made an obscure reference after that which no one will get! I'm such a genius, ain't I, #0001? Linda?"

The voice was one she recognised out of a thousand others. One that would send a shiver down her spine every time her eardrums would catch even but a whisper of it. She turned her head and there he was. Geoffrey Lucian Lance, sitting in the shade of an umbrella at a table of a café, accompanied by Underling and a woman IF wasn't familiar with.

She wanted to look away and move along before any of them would make eye contact and make things, but it was already too late. Geoffrey himself had glanced in her direction twice before realising it was her. And when the others on the table had caught on that he wasn't paying attention anymore, they would follow his gaze and also stare IF down.

" _crud,_ " IF thought. She wanted to walk away and pretend to not have seen any of them, but considering he was here and not in the Basilicom, awaiting their arrival, then perhaps this entire thing wasn't a trap. It would've been for the best to find out as soon as possible… or to at least get some clarity as for why their CPU wouldn't just ask for his help.

The man got up from his chair and reached under his hat, dropping his wallet on the table. "Here's some cash. There's a fifty in there," he said, pointing at Linda. "It better be still there when I get back. The drinks were no more than twelve bucks!"

The Underling just scoffed as she took his wallet and, in a form of mockery, the moment he turned his back on her, she took the fifty bill and pocketed it. IF could've sworn she muttered "dumbass."

"Why, hello there. Isa—"

She raised a hand and interrupted him. "Don't you dare. IF. My name is IF and you know it."

He narrowed his eyes and grinned, spreading his arms. "Come now. Should old friends truly be so formal to one and another? You can also call me by my full name, right?"

"Mock me while you can, _Lance_. We'll come out on top eventually."

"Those at the top fall the hardest when everything beneath them breaks," he spoke in a slow, deep tone. Every single word he spoke felt like a direct insult to her. As if he was trying to ridicule her just for the sake of it. Yet, when she thought it couldn't get any worse, his expression shifted to a more serious one, gazing down upon the girl with unspoken hatred.

"The hell you doing on my turf, IF?"

"What, you don't know?"

"Know what?"

A slow nod followed by a response. IF put a hand on her side as she spoke. "A friend and I are staying over in your Basilicom for some time. Your CPU has reached out to us for help."

"Help!? Rei? No way. You're joking. You gotta be! Rei would never consider the help of anyone but her perfectly fine Oracle: me!"

There was something so satisfying about that display of disbelieve to the Guild Agent. "And what if you're the problem?" she questioned with a confident grin.

"But that's—"

"Maybe you're not doing your job well enough. Ever thought of that?"

"I-... She-... G-...Gah!? Not funny, you nerd!" He nervously adjusted his hat. "Tsk! Well, consider yourself lucky I'm not going to be around for a few days tomorrow. Linda and I are gonna go on a vacation."

"A vacation? What, to where?"

He stomped forward and grabbed her by the shoulder. "You'll know soon enough..." he groaned threateningly before pushing her away. With one last glare as the icing on the cake, her turned back to the table with his companions… which were both already gone, so he was just left looking for them before shrugging and also walking off, back to Tari's Basilicom. Did Linda just steal his wallet?

"... What was that about?" IF murmured. A shake of the head and a shrug later and she decided not to think too hard about it. He's always planning something. And they're always on guard. But perhaps with this tip, they should stay extra vigilant.

* * *

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